The Remembered
by WitchGirl
Summary: Sequel to “The Forgotten,” though one does not have to read that to understand this. What happens when a nosey reporter finds out Holly’s secret? And what happens when she’s not the only one who found out…
1. In Which Holly Falls Asleep in her Mashe...

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The Remembered

Synopsis of the first one: Holly Phillips is really the long lost daughter of James and Lily Potter, though the only people aware of this are Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black. Holly is and has been close friends with Lupin ever since she was four years old. Now, she's in her final year of Hogwarts. She has been writing to Cedric Diggory over the summer, and is best friends with the Weasley twins and Lee Jordan. She was once a very neutral person, but ever since she discovered she was a Potter, her personality has surfaced and she has turned out to be quite a short-tempered and sarcastic person indeed (I love people like that, don't you?) Enjoy your read! 

Summary: Sequel to "The Forgotten," though one does not have to read that to understand this. What happens when a nosey reporter finds out Holly's secret? And what happens when she's not the only one who found out…

Chapter One: In Which Holly Falls Asleep into Her Mashed Potatoes

Holly stared in wonder at the letter she had read for the eighth time. Her jaw was slightly open and her eyes her scanning over the words. She had to take out a quill and underline a few to believe it fully. "They changed at the last second…" she underlined. "Sirius is innocent…" she underlined. And the thing she was most astonished with was the line: "It was Peter. Peter betrayed your parents."

"I knew it…" Holly whispered with a grin. "I was right all along!" The door to her compartment slid open and she stuffed the letter in her pocket.

"Blimey! Why is it always raining when we go to Hogwarts?" George asked as he stumbled in.

"Damn Bagman!" Fred swore. "Who does he think he is, cheating us out of his money like that?"

"He still refuses to give you your money, then?" said Holly. Lee ran into the compartment and hastily shut the door. He was panting heavily.

"Any of you seen Ho- oh, hello, Holly…" Lee grinned. Holly frowned.

"What'd you do?" Fred and Holly said at the same time. Fred sounded excited and had a grin on his face but Holly looked at Lee accusingly. He gave her an innocent smile.

"I haven't done anything. Just, um, stay away from Oliver Wood for a while." Holly was about to open her mouth to say something when she heard someone pounding on the compartment door.  
"Heh heh… don't open that…" said Lee with the same nervous smile on his face.

"JORDAN!" cried the voice behind the door. "Jordan, I know you're in there!"

"Oliver?" Holly called, frowning and standing up to open the door. "Is that you?"

"NO!" Lee cried, but he was too late. Holly slid open the door.

"Oliver, what are you doing here?" Oliver seemed very angry.

"I'm not supposed to be here."

"I know that. But you are."

"Hiya, Oliver!" Fred and George chirped with identical smiles on their face. They were standing shoulder to shoulder.

"You're hiding him, aren't you? Step aside and show the son-of-a-bitch!" Fred and George gladly did so to reveal a cowering Lee.

"Traitors," Lee muttered. Oliver was fuming as he stepped towards Lee, but Holly held him back.

"What did he do?"  
"I chased him all the way on this train!"

"What did he do?" Holly repeated. Oliver shoved a picture in her face. Holly stared at it, then at Lee.

"You little—"

"What is it?" Fred took the picture from Holly's hands and burst out laughing. George leaned into see and joined in. Lee had a picture of Oliver, with no shirt, kissing Holly very passionately on Professor Snape's desk.

"He was showing that thing to everyone and now I have no way of getting off this train except at Hogwarts!" Lee was still grinning nervously.

"You're merciful, Oliver! A great Quidditch captain, one of the best!" he said.

"Flattery will get you no where, Jordan!"

"Give me that picture!" Holly yanked it out of the Fred's hands. He was too busy laughing to notice. "How the hell did you do this, Jordan!" Holly demanded.

"A little bit of magic goes a long way!" Jordan replied with a smile.

"We both know that this never happened!" Holly snapped.

"Yeah, but the others don't!"

"Let me at him!" Holly growled.  
"Whoa, there Holly!" George said, holding her back. He had his eyes on the picture and Oliver noticed.

"Say, Holly, you might want to burn that before Fred and George get any ideas."  
"You're right, Oliver!" Holly took out her wand and shrieked an incantation. The spell backfired and Holly's face was black. Fred and George started laughing all over again.

"It's a fire repellent spell, Hol!" Lee pointed out. "Any fire spell you throw at it will blow up in your face… so to speak…" Now Holly was very angry.

"Do you know what will happen when Snape sees this???"  
"Yeah! That's why it's so great!" Lee started laughing himself.

"Give me that!" Oliver took the picture from Holly and ripped it in two. He then ripped it again and continued ripping it until it was in tiny pieces. He walked over to the window, opened it, and let the pieces fly in the wind. He then turned to Lee again.

"As for you!" he said. "Because of you I have no way of getting out of here until we get to Hogsmead station!"

"Wait, Oliver," Fred stepped in. "Didn't you say the first thing you were going to do when you graduated was get your Aparating license?"

"Yeah but… wait, hey yeah!" Oliver cried, suddenly happy again. "Thanks for reminding me George. And you!" he said to Lee. "I'll deal with YOU later!" and with that, he disappeared. Lee let out a sigh of relief.

"Don't you dare think you're off the hook yet, Jordan!" Holly shook her finger at the boy.

"Yikes!" Lee began to cower in the corner. Holly grinned.

"Oh, I am going to enjoy this!"

With a grin and feeling much better, Holly exited the train with a spring on her step. She spotted her brother and her grin widened.

"Hi, Hagrid!" she heard him yell at the giant.

"All righ' Harry?" he bellowed in reply. "See yeh at the feast if we don' drown!" Holly skipped over to them.

"Ow! Watch it!" Lee groaned. He scowled painfully after Holly as George helped him out of the train. Fred was still chuckling.

"Don't worry, Lee. We'll mend that broken arm of yours… And that black eye there… and we already tried fixing that split lip, didn't we? Oh, and I forgot about when she kneed you in the—"

"Shut UP George!" Lee snapped. "I thought Holly never got mad."  
"Yeah, well she's been getting angry a lot easier these days. I remember the times when we could do anything we wanted to her and she'd just laugh and let it pass. Those were the good ol' days!"

"Well what made her so cranky then?" Lee asked, rubbing his left shoulder. "Ow, I think she dislocated my shoulder too."

"Well, we saw her at the Quidditch Cup and she lost this letter that someone sent her and she went ballistic! She was all paranoid and accusing people of taking it. She was a real bitch until she found it in her pocket." said George.

"Who was the letter from?" Lee asked.

"Um… Lupin. You remember Lupin, right?" Lee looked at George as if he'd just asked him if he knew it was raining.

"No, George, I don't remember a thing that happened last year except the part where I hit you over the head with the sledge hammer!" Lee's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Right, right, right." George nodded. 

"Some weather we're having, eh Harry?" Holly said, cheerily. She caught her brother and his friends right before they stepped into their carriage.

"Yeah, sure." Harry shrugged.

"Could I share a carriage with—"

"Oy! Holly!" Fred whistled. Holly cringed and Ron noticed, though his friends were preoccupied. Hermione had already dashed into the carriage to try and keep as dry as she could. Harry was looking at the abused Lee Jordan who was between the twins and had an arm slung over a shoulder of each of them.

"What happened to Lee?" Harry whispered to Ron. Ron couldn't answer. He was still trying to figure out why Holly didn't want his brothers along. Well, actually, he couldn't blame her. He didn't want them around half the time. But Holly was one of their closest friends.

Holly forced a smile.

"Hi, boys."

"You two get in the carriage." George pushed his brother up into the carriage. "We'll catch the next one."

"But—"

"Holly, you owe it to Lee!" Fred gave her a sweet face. "After what you did to him…"

"Wait, YOU did that to Lee?" Ron grinned. Lee frowned.

"I played a great prank on her and Oliver Wood and she got mad."

"We gave him eight points for originality," George chirped.

"A perfect ten for the tempers of the victims," Fred added with a grin.

"But a sorrowful four for how the mission was carried out," George said with a frown.

"He should have let professional pranksters like us carry it out, eh George?"  
"Absolutely!" George nodded.

With a laugh, Harry told them, "Well, see you at the castle then!" and he stepped into the carriage. Holly glared at the three of them.

"I needed to talk to those three!"

"Don't worry. Oy! Neville! Want to ride with Harry, Ron and Hermione?" Lee called. Neville shrugged. "OK." Fred helped him into the carriage.

"There, now they won't be lonely." Lee grinned.

"Come on then, Holly, in you go!" Fred held the door open to the next carriage for her. Holly forced another smile.

"Thank you, Frederic!" And for the rest of the ride, she wore an unpleasant and annoyed scowl on her face.

Holly stepped out of the carriage, still in a bad mood.

"Hey Holly. I was looking for you on the train. Lee Jordan had this picture he was showing around—"

"Don't remind me, Cedric." Holly sighed, exasperated. Cedric grinned.

"I really enjoyed your letters. You have wacky relatives."  
"If you're talking about Remus, he's not really my relative, just like my relative." Cedric laughed.

"Yeah, I knew you two were friends but I didn't know you knew him since you were a baby… Um, about your dad…" Cedric paused and tried to read Holly's expression. She gave him a weak smile to let him know it was OK.  
"Ced, he's been dead for four and a half years. It's OK." Cedric nodded.

"I knew that, I was just checking. Well, you know, he knew my dad?" Holly looked slightly surprised.

"The Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures?" Cedric nodded and laughed again. 

"Yeah, actually, your dad was my dad's boss." Holly chortled.

"You mean your dad worked for mine?" Cedric nodded with a slight smile.

"If it means anything, my dad really admired yours. I remember him coming home one night and talking to my mom. 'That man!' he said. 'Some will say he's flirting with danger, some will say his ways will some day get him arrested or fired, but I think it takes real courage for a man to stand up to the Minister like he did!' He said something about protesting the arrest of a man who owned a flock of docile doxies. You wouldn't happen to know what that was about, would you?" Holly grinned, remembering the time.  
"Yeah…" she sighed. "The incident was discussed at my house too. I wasn't supposed to be listening of course, but do you think that stopped me? I listened in from the hall. My parents were fighting about it. My mom kept yelling at my dad demanding why he did something as stupid as question the law to the Minister's face. There had been complaints about doxies attacking children in the neighborhood and it was common knowledge that Mr. Greenwood owned a menagerie of strange and interesting animals, a flock of doxies being one of them. And so the Ministry immediately jumped to the conclusion that the doxies in Mr. Greenwood's personal zoo were the cause of all the commotion. However, all of Mr. Greenwood's animals were domesticated, including his doxies. And Dad refused to arrest the man for lack of evidence. Fudge himself demanded why he was doing it. He even got suspended from his job until the Ministry found that there were other doxies in town in greater numbers." Cedric laughed.

"And I'm sure Fudge was quick to admit he was wrong," he said, wryly.

"Hardly!" Holly cried. They both laughed. Finally, Cedric sighed.

"I regret to say that I never knew him, Hol, but I heard your father was a great man. My dad really admired him. I wish I could have met him."

"Aw, thanks, Ced!"

"I'm gonna go to my table now, before the sorting starts," Cedric said. "See you later!"

"Bye!" Holly sat down next to the Weasley twins and listened to the names called and the people being sorted. She was one of the only people who found the hat's song and the little first years being issued houses boring. And so, she rested her head on her hands and waited for the food to appear. When it came to the end of the Ps and Graham Pritchard was put into Slytherin, Holly felt her eyelids become heavy. The gabbing voices around her, including those of Lee Jordan and the twins were becoming faint. After what seemed like seconds, Dumbeldore's voice came as if from far away.

"I… only two words… _Tuck in._" Holly wasn't even hungry enough to lift her head to eat. 

The twins and Lee decided not to bother her, seeing as they were talking about her anyway.

"Do you think the reason she's been cranky lately is because she hasn't gotten enough sleep?" Lee asked. Fred and George shrugged.

"I'm beginning to like her less now that she's developed a personality," Lee murmured.

"What are you talking about?" Fred cried, surprised. "I like her attitude! I think it's great! Now she's more fun to play jokes on because she'll actually get mad!"

Holly heard their voices faintly, but that's all of the conversation she heard. The mumbles of her friends died down and there was silence in the hall and she could only assume Dumbledore was about to make his speech. She ignored it completely.

"Now that we are all fed and watered…" Holly didn't even sit up. However, there was one part of the speech that caught her attention.

"The Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year." Holly snapped to attention and gaped at Dumbledore. She then looked at the twins who were opening and closing their mouths in silent protest, too appalled to speak. Surely he couldn't have meant it. Surely, through her drowsy hearing, she had heard wrong. Dumbledore continued.

"This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year taking up much of the teacher's time and energy…"

"Oh, just say what it is you git!" Holly muttered. Fred and George both raised their eyebrows in identical looks of skepticism.

"Did you just call Dumbledore a git?"

"…That this year at Hogwarts—" but the headmaster was interrupted as lightning flashed and the doors to the Great Hall swung open. Holly examined the figure that stood in the doorway doubtfully. His physical appearance was not to attractive at all. There was not a part of his body that wasn't scarred. He had a mob of scraggy hair and two very different eyes. One was large and electric blue and moved every which way. The other was a normal small brown eye.

His name was Alaster "Mad-Eye" Moody. Holly would know that eye anywhere. Her father always said it sent shivers up his spine. But however unnerved her father was by Moody's eye, the Auror was always more anxious.

Dumbledore introduced him as their new Defense Against Dark Arts teacher and continued with what he was about to say— There was a Tournament to take place at school this year. The Tri-Wizard Tournament. By the way the twins eyes lit up at the words, Holly knew that they were planning something. She sighed and swiftly went back to sleep.


	2. A Bad Start to a Bad Year

Chapter Two: A Bad Start to a Bad Year

"Holly…" Holly blinked and looked for the owner of the voice who called her name. Her eyes widened with embarrassment and fear as she realized the entire hall was empty. She scrambled to her feet and turned around and screamed as she found a bearded grinning wizard with a light dancing in his blue eyes behind his half-moon spectacles. He chuckled as she tripped backwards over the table. As she got to her feet again she looked at him sheepishly.

"Hello, Professor Dumbledore."

"Hello, Holly. Did you enjoy your sleep?"  
"Um, I did, thank you." Holly squirmed. She didn't really want to be there at that moment. All she wanted to do was get back to her dormitory where she could have a nice long rest. "Well, I'll be going now…" Holly headed towards the door.  
"Holly," Dumbledore called and Holly stopped. She turned to Dumbledore with a smile and nodded to show he had her attention. Dumbledore took a deep breath and hesitated. Holly's brow furrowed in confusion. What was so hard to say that it even made Dumbledore think twice about it.

"Your… brother."  
"Oh…" That was the answer.

"I appreciate that you haven't said anything to him."  
"Don't mention it," Holly murmured.

"I want you to look after him this year. As an older sister should." Holly gave him a sly smile.

"Really?" she said. "As a sister should?" Dumbledore looked at her over his glasses seriously, the smile from his face gone. Holly's face became serious as well.

"Yes sir," she nodded.

"I'm serious, Holly. You never know what that boy's going to get into…" Holly nodded.

"Yes, sir," she repeated. The smile slowly appeared on Dumbledore's face again.

"I'm glad we're clear. Good night, Miss Phillips."

"Good night."

Holly muttered to herself as she walked back to the common room.

"Stupid Dumbledore," she mumbled. "Now I have to be my brother's keeper." She approached the Fat Lady and opened her mouth to say the password when she realized she didn't know it.

"Oh hell!" she cried as she kicked the stone wall. "OK, look, um, whatever your name is, I—"

"Belinda!"

"Sorry?"  
"My name. It's Belinda!" the Fat Lady informed her. Holly nodded.

"OK, alright, that's interesting information. Look, Belinda, my name is Holly Phillips and I overslept at the welcoming feast and I have no clue what the password is. So do you think you can give me a break and let me in anyway?"

"Are you crazy? Of course not!" Holly sighed.

"Please Belinda? I'll tell everyone of your wonderful compassion and pity! I am but a poor, lost little soul that's trying to find her way home in a warm bed in the GRYFFINDOR COMMON ROOM!"

"Sorry, I can't let you in." Belinda shook her head.

"There has to be some way I can get in there!" Holly complained.

"There is." Holly's face lit up.

"Really? How?"

"By giving me the password," Belinda replied with a smug look. Holly frowned.

"I don't like your attitude."

"And I don't like yours, so we're even."  
"Please, there has to be something I can do to show you I belong in there! Wait, you KNOW I belong in there! I've gone to this school for five years!"

"I'll make a deal with you," said Belinda. "I heard you muttering about your brother. Is he in this house?" Holly hesitated.

"Yes…"

"If you can tell me who he is, I will let you in."

"That's all?" said Holly. Belinda smirked.

"Providing he can vouch for you, yes."

"I don't want to disturb anyone, they're all sleeping." Holly gave the portrait a large grin. Belinda smiled in return.

"Then I'm afraid you cannot get into this common room."  
"You're doing this to annoy me, aren't you?" Holly narrowed her eyes at Belinda, whose smile was still firmly in place. Holly was about to try random words for the password when the painting swung aside and a head poked out of the room.

"What's going on out here?" It was George.

"George!" Holly cried. "My savior, my wonderful, beautiful messiah!"

"What?" George blinked.

"Um, Belinda? This is, er, my brother. Isn't that right, George?"

"What?" George repeated. Holly gave a nervous laugh.

"Heh heh… See, he's very tired. George, my wonderful brother, what's the password?" George rolled his eyes.

"Let her in, Lady. She's with me," George said to the painting. Belinda gave Holly a dirty look as she allowed the young girl into the common room.

"What's all that about me being your brother?" George asked.

"Long story… Hey… What are you two doing?" She spotted Fred in the corner, working on something.

"That's top secret information, Holly. We can't tell you that," George smirked.

"Right, OK, whatever. I'm going to bed!"

"No, it is, you can't!"  
"I assure you that you CAN and it IS NOT!"  
"It is and you can't!"

"It isn't and I can and I will!"

"It is and you can't and I WON'T!"  
"TAKE YOUR SEAT MISS PHILLIPS! I have had ENOUGH of you for today! Ten points from Gryffindor and you are staying for detention after school tomorrow!" The class moaned as Snape sat down in his chair. Holly stared at him.

"So, you're just going to let an entire class mix two highly dangerous ingredients together! You just can't do that!"

"As I said, I can and I will. Who is the Potions Master here, hm? Not you! Class, mix two ounces of alorenthia and two ounces of wolfsbane!"  
"No!" Holly cried, turning to the class. "Don't do it! You can't possibly achieve the effects he wants you to! He wants to kill us all!"  
"Miss Phillips!" Snape snapped, slamming down his fist on the desk which made a loud thump. "I am sure the class has had enough of your conspiracy theories! Now, please have a seat before I am forced to escort you to the hospital wing for a CAT SCAN!" Half the class muttered at what a CAT scan was but Holly was resolute, yet calm.

"I assure you, Professor, I do not need my head examined. Wolfsbane and alorenthia are just an explosion waiting to happen!" Snape slapped his forehead with his hand.

"You stupid, stupid girl…" he muttered. "Not alorenthia and wolfsbane, _orlenthia _and wolfsbane are dangerous!" Holly was about to retort, but paused.

"Oops…" she muttered. Snape sneered at her.

"Sit. Down."

"Yes, sir." Holly did so quickly and found the twins snickering. "You told me those were dangerous ingredients!" she hissed.

"Apparently, you're stupider than we are!" Fred said through his silent laughter. 

Holly was having a very bad day as she trudged to lunch. Lee Jordan came running up to her.

"Hey Holly, I—"

"Not now, Jordan!" Holly snapped, holding up her hand. She walked past him and to the Gryffindor table. She glanced over at her brother, but immediately turned away. Despite what Dumbledore had said, she didn't feel like playing babysitter today. Let her brother get into all the trouble he wanted for all she cared.

"So, are you excited about the tournament?" Holly's head turned sharply to her left as she heard a handful of gossiping first years.

"Tournament?" she said. One of them, a young boy who seemed small, even for a first year turned to her and grinned.

"Yeah. Are you going to enter?"

"Do you know who I am?" Holly asked.

"Sure I do. You're the girl my brother has a crush on." Holly raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you?" she inquired.

"Dennis Creevey!"  
"And your brother is…"  
"Colin." Holly smiled.

"Right! I, er, know him!"

"Well are you going to enter?" Dennis asked.

"Um, enter what?" Dennis and his friends gaped at her.

"You may be pretty, but you aren't that bright, are you?" said Dennis.  
"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about."  
"The Tournament!" Dennis and his friends all cried at the same time.

"Everyone's been talking about this tournament but I have no idea what it is!" Dennis sighed, exasperated.

"The _Tri-Wizard_ Tournament of course, you git!" a young girl next to Dennis exclaimed.

"Thank you, Natalie!" Dennis gave her a smile.

"The Tri-what?" Holly was confused.

"The Tri-Wizard Tournament is a competition between three schools that hasn't taken place in… How long guys?" The others shrugged at Natalie's question. She continued none the less. "Anyway, it hasn't taken place in a long time. It's between three schools and this year Hogwarts is hosting!" Natalie, with help from her friends, began describing the tournament and the rules. Holly nodded through the explanation.

"Did you miss the entire welcoming feast or something?" one of the boys concluded.

"I think she's just dense and didn't get it," another chimed in. Holly growled in frustration.

"I was asleep, OK? I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before! But thanks, now I don't have to look stupid when people are talking about it."

"Don't worry," Dennis said with a grin. "Your stupidity is safe with us. So, are you going to put your name in the Goblet of Fire? When it's up, of course."

"How old do you have to be again?" Holly asked.

"Seventeen," they all said.

"Then I can't. I'm only sixteen."

"Really?" Dennis asked. "I thought you were in your seventh year."  
"Well I'm not, I'm in my sixth."  
"Well, would you enter?" asked Natalie.

"I don't know. But… you said there was a reward or something, right? Like, money?"

"Yeah." They all nodded. Holly bit her lip and smiled sadly.

"Then I have a feeling I know a pair who will do anything, age limit or no, to get into that tournament…"

"… And I'm going to do everything in my power to try and talk you out of it!" Holly, Lee, and the twins were trudging off to Care of Magical Creatures.

"Oh Holly, you know nothing you say can stop us," George grinned. Lee nodded, gravely.

"They're right, Holly. They're doomed to a life of disobedience."

"Hallo, you four!" Hagrid called.

"Hello, Hagrid! You're looking great this fine evening!" Fred called. Hagrid's eyes narrowed.

"The las' time you tried to flatter me, Mr. Fred Weasley, you had done somethin' to one o' me skrewts!"

"We won't touch your skrewts today, Hagrid, we swear!" George held up his hands, defensively. Hagrid smiled weakly.

"So what are we doing today, Hagrid?" Lee asked

"If you kids had been 'ere on time, you'd know what we're doin'!"

"You're absolutely right, Hagrid," Fred agreed. "But the fact is, we weren't here on time. So if you could be so kind as to explain, it would really help us out a lot." A few kids laughed at how Fred sounded so polite and yet so derisive at the same time. Hagrid sighed, knowing it was only Fred Weasley, nothing to get worried about. Then again, when the Weasley twins were involved, it usually was something to get worried about.

"You're goin' teh help me with somethin' in the lake."

"Lake?" Holly cried. "No. I'm not going near the lake!" Hagrid frowned with what seemed to be a concerned look.

"Somethin' wrong, Holly?"

"No, it's just, that water is filthy!" she shrieked, her voice unusually high. She used the stereotypical ways of a female to her advantage. "And I just washed my hair! I can't go in that gunk!"

"Nonsense!" Hagrid laughed as most of the girls laughed at Holly and the others looked at the lake, nervously. "The lake is as clean as… Well, as clean as it can get anyway."

"Why do we need to go into the lake anyway?" Holly asked.

"The Giant Squid's taken ill and I need a few helpin' hands to assist me with 'em."

"Well, then, you obviously don't need my help. You have plenty of helping hands right here without me!"

"Holly, it's a great learnin' experience! You won't see anythin' like what's under there!"  
"Exactly." Holly nodded.

"What is it, Holly?" Hagrid asked, seriously.

"The… The Grindylows! I'm terrified of them!"

"Awe, you needn' worry 'bout them, Hol! They're pests, but if yeh jus' put on this repellent, they'll leave you alone for the most part."

"Um, er, uh… I still don't trust them!" Fred, George and Lee were laughing so hard by now they fell to the floor.

"And jus' what do you three think you're laughin' at?" Hagrid demanded.

"Oh Hagrid!" George cried through his laugher. "Isn't it obvious? Can't you see?"

"Eh?"

"Holly doesn't want to go into the lake because… because…" But Fred couldn't finish, he was laughing so hard.

"Because she's afraid of water!" Lee cried. Holly mumbled something and kicked the dirt. Hagrid smiled at her.  
"Well why didn' yeh say so, Holly?" he cried. "All righ' you're not a bad student, so I'll let yeh stay up here until we come back. But in the mean time… Are all of yeh ready with that spell I showed yeh?" They all nodded, but Lee and the twins stopped laughing and looked at each other with confused looks.

"Er… spell?" George said. Hagrid grinned.

"That's why yeh should 'ave been here on time!"

"UGH!" Holly cried as she looked at her muddy robes. "When you three dove in, you didn't have to splash me with all that crud!" They were walking back from their Care of Magical Creatures class.  
"Sorry Hol," said George, who didn't sound sorry at all. "We didn't mean it."  
"Yeah, like hell you didn't!" Holly snapped. "I am having one of the worst start of terms EVER!"

"Relax, Holly. Stress gives you wrinkles." Fred yawned. Holly gaped.

"You don't care, do you? You really don't care!" she yelled. Fred and George looked at each other, confused.

"Calm down, Holly, you know how they are," he said.

"You know what? I refuse to be around friends who don't care about me!"  
"Holly, relax!" George ordered, grabbing her shoulders. "You're becoming hysterical."

"And you can't deal with that, can you? All you do is joke, you can't deal with anything serious! Well I hate to be the one to break it to you, Fred and George Weasley, but your joke shop is nothing more than a fantasy! Weasley's Wizard Wheezes will never become a reality and do you know why? Because you two won't be able to deal with all the stress of running a business! You can't be serious, you don't even have the money for it! How on earth do you expect you'll make that money? You like jokes so much? Than you'll love this news, Weasleys! You're a joke! You're just one big joke and that's all you'll ever be!" George let go of Holly's shoulders and Holly saw, as if in slow motion, his eyes grow wide, his mouth drop slightly, and his heart break. Slowly, she realized what she done and looked at Fred, who had the same, heartbroken look on his face. She then looked at the ground.

"I'm sorry, you guys," she whispered. They said nothing. She couldn't bear to look them in the eye. She turned to Lee for support, but he was looking at her wish shock and disgust and slowly shaking his head, truly appalled. Holly opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, Lee interrupted her.

"How can you say something like that, Holly?" His voice was quiet, yet full of disdain. "How can you? No, really, I want to know. You know that's all Fred and George want to do, start a joke shop, and you've supported them in it up 'til now! You told them to go for it and believe in themselves. Now, you're taking that back and telling them it'll never happen. Holly, you just told a young kid that his father's never coming home from war without any pity or sympathy. You're disgusting. Ever since last year, you've developed this whole new attitude. You cried. I actually saw you cry last year. You used to never cry, even when your dad died. You've been angry and irritable for the longest time. Now I don't know anything about females or PMS or anything, but you've really changed, Holly. You've developed all these new emotions and none of them are positive. You didn't used to care what other people think, and now you're willing to beat up one of your closest friends just because they pulled a joke on you that you think could damage your reputation! You used to forgive your friends when they accidentally hurt you and now you scream at them when they accidentally get you muddy. You used to support your friends in anything they wanted to do, and now you're crushing their dreams. Why have you become such a _bitch_ Holly?" Lee screamed. He took a deep breath to calm down. "I'll tell you what. You keep your cocky attitude and we'll keep our dreams. Goodbye, Holly." And with that, Lee gave Fred and George a weak smile as he ushered them into the castle with him. And Holly was left, alone.


	3. Disasterous Defense

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A/N: Please. I enjoy reviews. They make me happy. And when I'm happy, I post. Comprendo?

Chapter Three: Disastrous Defense

Holly sat alone at breakfast the next morning. As the owls swooped in, she noticed two letters dropped on her plate, narrowly avoiding a pool of maple syrup. The first letter she opened was from Remus Lupin. She smiled, happy to hear from him.

Holly,

First of all, how is everything? I hope all is going well. How do you like Professor Moody? You and the twins aren't giving them a hard time, are you? How are the twins, by the way? How much trouble have they gotten into already? I miss the school already, as you can probably tell by all these questions I'm asking. But I also suppose, they're futile attempts to distract me from the real reason I'm writing to you.

I want to make sure that you don't tell anyone anything about who you really are and who your parents were. Remember, there could be serious repercussions if certain information gets out and I want you to do whatever is in your power to prevent that from ever happening. With the Tournament going on, reporters will be buzzing about everywhere and some will do whatever it takes to get a good story... I would also like to state that with the Tournament going on, your brother and his friends might get some ideas as well. I want you to look out for him. No one knows the kind of things he might get into this year.

That's all I really wanted to tell you about. Tell your mother I said hello and thank her for me.

Remus

Holly found this letter slightly odd. She came to the conclusion that Remus was extremely bored and decided to write a letter to Holly reminding her to watch out for her brother, even though Dumbledore had already done that on her first day back. But that wasn't the strange part. He told Holly to say hello to her mother for him. And to thank her. Thank her? For what? Sighing, she picked up the other letter and opened it. She smiled as she realized it was her mother's annual 'Have-a-good-school-year' letter.

Holly, dear, I just wanted to wish you luck on your sixth year at Hogwarts. I'm just glad you made it this far. With that C in Potions last year… I was very disappointed in that, honey. But you promised me that you'll pull it up.

How are Fred and George? How many detentions have they received yet? And is young Lee Jordan doing alright? I spoke with his father the other day, apparently Lee's favorite aunt has taken ill. Lee's father said the boy was taking it kind of hard. Be there for him if he needs you, Holly.

I want you to remind the twins and yourself about NOT trying to enter the Tri-Wizard Tournament. You are so predictable when it comes to things like this. I know that the three of you will come up with some elaborate plan to get past the age line, but don't even think of trying it or I will send you a howler!… Just kidding!

Well, have a brilliant school year, honey! And tell Remus hello from me and he's perfectly welcome!

Love, Mom

Holly sighed again at this letter. Again, here was her mother telling her to say hello to Remus and already replying to his thank you before she'd even heard it. Holly found this behavior peculiar because neither of them ever said that in any of the other letters they ever sent.

But Holly was also becoming frustrated. Both Remus's and her mother's letters reminded her of her feud with Lee and the twins. She didn't want to fight with them, but she knew they weren't going to forgive her anytime soon.

So, Lee's aunt was sick. He hadn't said anything about that. That information only made Holly feel worse about what she said the day before. She had suddenly lost her appetite.

"Is something wrong, Holly?" Harry asked as he noticed her stand up. Holly sighed and shook her head.

"I'm just going to go take a walk before classes…" Harry shrugged and went back to his meal.

Holly walked out onto the grounds and looked at the sky. The clouds were thickening and she knew it would rain soon. She walked over to a tree with black bark and red leaves that were falling off their branches.

"You're depressed. Is it because of what happened with the twins?" Holly turned around to see Cedric Diggory, holding a single white rose.

"Where'd you get that?" she asked.

"Oh, it was nothing. I have a garden."

"No you don't!" Holly laughed.

"I do so!"

"You do not! Where on earth would you put it? And besides, you'd make a lousy gardener." Cedric sighed.

"You're right. It was a simple transfiguration spell. It used to be a twig."

"Ah, I see." Holly smiled as Cedric handed her the rose.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"About what?" Holly asked, trying as hard as she could to avoid talking about _it._

"About your fight with Lee Jordan and the Weasley twins."

"Oh… Well, that's none of your concern."

"Holly," Cedric said with a sincere smile. "It concern's you and you concern me."

"OK…" Holly took a deep breath. "I said something stupid and I don't think they're willing to let me off very easily this time."

"What did you say?"

"It's so stupid, I don't even want to repeat it. I accused them of not caring about me and then said their joke shop was never going to happen. You know how dedicated they are to that joke shop! I crushed their dreams in the palm of my hand as if it were this rose!" Holly was so angry with herself. How could she be so cruel? Lee was right, she had changed. And even Holly didn't like this new person she'd become. Holly couldn't figure out what had brought about this change. It had been bothering her ever since Lee had pointed it out to her.

"Holly, I'm sure they'll forgive you. They have to forgive you… some day. Apologize, let them know you're really sorry for what you said." Holly gave Cedric a weak smile.

"Oh Cedric, you're a great friend, you really are. But you don't know anything about the twins, do you? Apologizing won't be enough for them. I was their best friend, their big supporter, and now they think I've lost faith in them. Words _can_ hurt, Cedric, despite what the poem says. I've really scarred them. They need me to show I still have faith in them. They need me to show that I'm still the same Holly who let them break her arm and tell the teachers she'd fallen down the stairs. They need to know I'm the same Holly who helped them play jokes on the Slytherins and talk them out of playing jokes on the teachers. They need to know that I'm still _me!_ And verbal apologies aren't enough for that."

"But they're a start, aren't they? Come on, Holly, nothing will get done if you just sit here and mope about it!"

"They need time. They need time to get over it. In the mean time, I'm going to try and stay away from them and meeting their eyes."

"That might be a little hard to do seeing as they're in every single class you have," Cedric pointed out. Holly sighed.

"Yeah. But it's worth a try, isn't it?"

"Defense techniques in this situation are key, and not just magical defense! You need to physically avoid the blows as well." Professor Moody was lecturing his sixth year Gryffindor class a few weeks later. "When a curse is thrown your way, you'll need to block it with the blocking charm, which I'm sure Professor Flitwick has demonstrated once or twice when certain people feel like using books and the levitation charm as weapons." As he said this, he eyed Fred and George with his beady brown eye. They were too tired it seemed, to come up with any witty comebacks. This surprised everyone except the teacher as he continued. "However, the charm is not always effective and you can't count on it for everything. And you especially can't count on it when the Unforgivable Curses are involved. In which case, you will need to dodge the spell in order to avoid it because blocking charms and reflecting charms are useless when it comes to this. Could I have a volunteer?" Moody's smaller eye surveyed the room while his electric blue eye swiveled around in its socket. Finally, the eye landed on a victim. One with dark red hair and sad brown eyes.

"Miss. Phillips," he said with a smile. "If you would be so kind." Holly reluctantly stood up and walked to the front of the class. "Now I am going to throw harmless spells at you. When they hit you, you will feel a small shaking sensation, but that is all. However, you must avoid feeling this shaking sensation at all costs, are we clear?"

"Yes sir," Holly nodded. Moody's smile widened.

"Very well. Let's begin." Moody aimed his wand at Holly and fired a spell, which Holly blocked with a reflecting charm almost lazily. The spell ricocheted out the window. Moody watched it.

"OK, you have demonstrated your knowledge of the reflecting charm. Let's see if you can dodge it without magic. Drop your wand."

"Excuse me sir?" Holly asked.

"I said drop your wand!" Moody ordered. Holly carefully set her wand down on the nearest desk. The black haired girl sitting there happened to be one of Holly's roommates, Kristen. She looked at the wand, then at Holly.

"Take the wand, Miss. Turvey, so Holly isn't tempted to take it," said Moody. Kristen did so. "OK, Miss. Phillips, let's try this again!" Moody rolled up his sleeves. He aimed and shot a spell straight at Holly, and as she moved to step out of the way, he fired another one right in her path, hitting her square in the stomach. Holly flinched for a second, then relaxed.

"That's not fair!" she protested. "You can't fire two spells at once!"  
"Your enemy can do whatever he pleases if you let him, Miss Phillips. Let's try this again."

After a few more trials, it was evident that Holly couldn't dodge multiple spells if her life depended on. However, Moody was about to test that theory.

"I don't believe you're motivated enough, Holly Phillips," he said, with a slight smile. "I think your head is in the clouds in stead of the classroom. So let's up the stakes. The spells are no longer harmless, Miss. Phillips. They will be curses. Picture yourself in a real battle and you've lost your wand. You must trust your skills at dodging spells that are cast simultaneously from many directions. You must dodge them… or die."

"But Professor, isn't that against school rules?" Holly asked, desperately. He was making her nervous. This wouldn't help her dodging skills, it would hurt them.

"Nonsense!" Moody waved her words away as if they were pesky insects buzzing around. "Dumbledore trusts me. You trust me, don't you, Holly? You know I'd never do anything to harm my students."

"But you just said they're real curses. Like, dangerous curses?"  
"And what is they are?" Moody hissed, the smile on his face transforming to a grin. Holly was becoming terrified.  
"Professor, may I say something?"  
"Of course you may, Holly," he said, his voice as sweet— and as thick and sticky— as honey.

"Well, to put it frankly sir… You're scaring the hell out of me."  
"Keep that fear, Holly, and use it to your advantage. People do amazing things when under pressure!" Moody seemed to be enjoying this. Holly couldn't believe he was enjoying this. In a desperate attempt get out of this, she turned to the class for support.

"Er, you guys, do you know if he can do this?"

"Oh come on, Holly, stop being a chicken!" Lee Jordan's voice jeered from somewhere in the middle. "It's a classroom, not a survival challenge. The curses can't be that bad, probably just jelly legs or a body bind or something. I thought the brave Holly Phillips didn't take anything from anybody." At that moment, Holly had absolutely no sympathy towards Lee and his sick aunt.

"Stupid Jordan…" she muttered under her breath. Holly glanced at Kristen. "Kristen!" she hissed. "Give me my wand!"

"Don't you dare, Miss. Turvey!" Moody cried. Kristen shrugged and gave Holly an apologetic look.

"Good luck," she whispered. Holly scowled when she realized that she had no one on her side. She supposed that Lee was right, in a way. They couldn't be curses that were very harmful to her…

Facing her fear, Holly turned and looked Moody straight in the face. She smiled, confidently.

"Let's do it then!"


	4. Cedric

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A/N: Hey! My updates are becoming less frequent, I know, but that's because high school sucks and is taking up way too much of my time. I'm also in the play, so that doesn't help. I've gotten pretty far in writing this though… all the way up to the third task already (yipee!) Well, enjoy and review!

"Hey there, kiddo!" a man with graying brown hair grinned. His eyes were a soft gray. They used to be permanently smiling and full of life. Not now. Holly squinted.

"Dad?"

"How's school?"

"Er, good I guess." Holly tilted her head to examine him.

"Dad… Why are you wearing your dress robes? Are we going somewhere special?" The man smiled with his lips, but his eyes were sad.

"No, not really. So, I hear you've found out who your real parents are. Quite interesting, eh? James and Lily Potter… You have famous parents, Holly. You have a famous brother."

"Yeah, but playing big sister means I have to look out for him without letting him know I'm his sister. It's kind of annoying."

"I bet…" the man laughed. "Does your mother know?"  
"I don't think so…" Holly shook her head. She frowned. "I'm confused."

"Why?"

"I don't know. But I feel as if this isn't happening, and yet it feels so natural and so real. I feel like I have a question to ask you… But I don't know what it is." As she studied the man, the conclusion hit her and her eyes widened, and then her spirits dropped. "Oh…" she said, gloomily. "Now I remember." The man nodded, sighed, and looked at the floor, then back up at Holly again.

"Well?" he said.

"Dad… How did you die?"

Everything was black.

"Oh you foolish, foolish girl…" came a voice from the abyss.

"Huh?" Holly mumbled.

"Is she out of the delirium?" came a different voice, a male voice.

"It's hard to tell. What's she muttering about now?" came the female voice.

"Um… Kangaroos on broomsticks," the male replied, then added, "Playing Quidditch against the koalas on enchanted… vacuum cleaners?"

"Vacuum cleaners?" Holly murmured, then blinked. "Why on earth was I talking about a Quidditch match between zoo animals on enchanted cleaning items?"

"What's a vacuum cleaner?" said the male. Holly blinked again. Her vision was blurry.

"AH!" she cried, sitting up so fast her head began to spin. "Oh… But AH! I can't see anything!"

"Relax, Miss. Phillips, it's just a temporary side effect of the healing potion I gave you!" cried the female. She felt someone push her back down in her bed.

"Who's there?" she demanded.

"Calm down, Miss. Phillips!" The woman stuffed a piece of chocolate in Holly's mouth. "You're in the hospital wing. It's me, Madam Pomfrey."  
"And?"

"And me, Holly, Cedric."

"Oh… Cedric… What happened?"  
"That crazy and reckless teacher hit you with a fever in a spell." Madam Pomfrey seemed frustrated and annoyed with the situation.

"Come again?" Holly was extremely confused. Cedric laughed.

"What she means is, in your Defense class, Professor Moody hit you with a positive Celsius curse."

"A what now?"

"It increases your body temperature. A negative Celsius curse decreases your body temperature. The fool didn't realize how powerful he'd made it. You had a fever so high, you started having fits on the floor! He should be fired for that reckless act!" Madam Pomfrey was really angry with him.

"Calm down, Madam Pomfrey, he already apologized immensely. He was only trying to teach her how to avoid spells… Anyway, Holly, if it's any consolation, he's boosting up your grade for showing valor and awarded your house ten points to try and make up for it."

"Well then I guess that replaces the ten Snape took away yesterday…" Holly murmured. Cedric laughed.

"Even when you're sick, you have a great sense of humor." Holly turned and spoke to the thing that looked most like Cedric through her hazed and blurry vision.

"You always know exactly the right thing to say, don't you?"

"Holly?" said Cedric.

"Yeah?"

"I'm over here. That's Professor Snape." He tapped her on the shoulder.

"Oops… Sorry Professor."

"Quite alright, Miss. Phillips," came the voice of steely Professor Severus Snape. "I came to inform you that you missed your detention today."

"Thank you for letting me know, Professor." Holly tried to sound sarcastic, but her voice sounded funny to her ears.

"Yes, well, either make it up tomorrow evening, or fifty points will be taken from your house. Good day." As he was walking away, he paused. "Oh, and ten points for skipping your detention."

"Well there goes those ten points Moody gave us…" Holly muttered.

"Um, Professor, wait!" she heard Cedric cry. Her heart nearly stopped.

"Oh no…" she groaned, knowing the Potions Master would eat the Hufflepuff alive. She heard him chase after him. After a few minutes, she heard footsteps running back to her bedside.

"Oh no, don't tell me, he took ten points from your house for telling him what to do and now you have detention with me tomorrow?" said Holly.

"No," Cedric said and Holly could hear the grin in his voice. "I told him about what Moody did to you and asked if he'd let you off. Not only did he let you off, he's only taking away five points instead of ten."

"What?!" Holly cried, incredulously. "How on earth did you make him do that?"

"He owed me a favor, what can I say? And he's not too fond of Moody anyway…" Holly felt Cedric pat her on the shoulder. "You'll be just fine, Holly. Everything will turn out great!"

"OK, so if we go this way, it'll be quicker." Holly pointed down a dark and dank corridor. Cedric was hesitant.

"I don't know, Holly… How do you know all this?"  
"The twins had a map once that told them all this. Come on, you want to get to the Great Hall before dinner's over, don't you?"

"Are you sure your coordination skills are intact, Holly?" Cedric asked.

"Don't be a git, Ced." Holly started marching off down the hall. "I know exactly where I'm— AAH!" Holly shrieked as she tripped over a large fuzzy object and narrowly avoided tumbling down the stairs. She fell hard on her right arm. She heard an unnatural hissing sound from the animal behind her and turned to scowl at it. Cedric came running to her side.  
"That was a nasty fall, are you OK?"  
"Is _she_ OK?! Is she _OK_?! Of course she is! She needs to watch where she's going! My poor, poor Mrs. Norris has been traumatized!" Filch had arrived, right on time. Cedric and Holly both scowled at him.

"You're cat's fine, sir, I'm sure of it," said Holly through gritted teeth. But Mrs. Norris gave a moaning meow sound to prove otherwise.

"Mrs. Norris is not fine! Why, you could have scarred her for life, you horrible, wretched little urchins!"

"Mr. Filch, sir, relax. There's nothing to be angry about, please. We just need to get Holly to the hospital wing— Again— so Madam Pomfrey can mend her—"

"We need to get that girl down to my office is what you mean!" Filch threatened. "And hang her from the ceiling from that arm of hers!" Cedric gave a nervous laugh.

"We'll, er, be right with you sir! As a matter of fact, I left some chains in the hospital wing. Just let me go get them and we'll be right with you! Come on, you, um, urchin!" he yanked Holly by her right arm and Holly shrieked but gritted her teeth and forced a smile.

"Yes… Cedric… I'm… Coming…" she said, trying to swallow the pain.

"Wait!" Filch called after them, but Cedric and Holly were already running down the hall.

"Twice in one day, hm? You sure are accident prone, Miss. Phillips." Madame Pomfrey said, shaking her head.

"I know, I know, but can you mend it?" Holly asked. Madame Pomfrey looked horrified.

"Of course I can mend it! What kind of a silly question is that!"

"Great," said Cedric. "Then we can eat."

"Hold still," Madam Pomfrey said as she readied her wand.

Half an hour later, Holly and Cedric were walking down the hall.

"I loved your convincing display," said Holly, sarcastically.

"What convincing dis— Oh." Cedric smiled, sheepishly.

"I especially liked the part when you ripped my already broken arm out of its socket. It was a nice touch."

"Well what was I supposed to do, let him take you?" Cedric shrugged. Holly rolled her eyes and smiled.

"It's common knowledge that Filch is just full of empty threats."  
"Common knowledge?" Cedric smiled. He was doubtful, but curious.

"Well, I mean, among the people I know."

"I'm sorry."  
"Don't be!" Holly laughed. "George did the same thing when we…" her smile faded and her laughter turned nervous. "He and Fred have been caught by Filch before you know. He didn't do anything to them." Her voice had become quiet.

"Talk to them," Cedric urged.

"What?"

"Fred and George. You should apologize." Holly sighed.

"They don't want my apology," she said. Cedric shook his head exasperatedly.  
"Yes they do! And you want to apologize! I just don't see why you're delaying. You know you were wrong, you admitted that to me!"  
"How do you know they want me to apologize?" Holly eyed him suspiciously. Cedric gave a weary sigh.

"Look at you!" he cried. "You're a wreck! You're depressed every time their name comes up, every time you remember them, every time you see them in the hall. Hell, you're even depressed when you see any redheaded sixth year boy! Admit it, it's tearing you apart."

"I'm a wreck without them," Holly nodded, sadly. "They were my other half. Or in this case, my other thirds, I suppose… And Lee… Lee's a better friend to them then I am. He stood up for them. I turned against them. Poor Lee. His Aunt's severely sick…" Cedric nodded as she spoke.

"They all need you, the three of them. I've seen them, Holly. All of their pranks are halfhearted and they've halted on their keen insults and comebacks. Well, mostly anyway. It's driving them crazy too. They want you back, but their afraid that you meant what you said. Apologize!" Holly shook her head.

"No, I can't, not yet. You don't understand, they wouldn't let me hear the end of it. They'll rub it in my face for as long as I'm at this school. They won't let me get a moment's peace… They just need some time, that's all." Cedric shrugged sadly, giving up.

"Whatever you say, Holly."

They approached the Great Hall and the doors were closed. Holly peeked inside.

"Great!" she cried. "We missed it!"

"It's alright, I'll live."

"We can get something from the kitchens, it's no trouble," Holly said.

"No, I'm going back to my common room, if that's OK with you. Good night, Holly." Holly smiled after him.

"Goodnight, Cedric.

Holly awoke the next morning unsure of herself. As she sat up, her head began to spin.

"Whoa…"

"It's the after effects," Jenna mumbled without looking up from her book.

"What are you talking about?" The blond looked up from her book and pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose.

"Of your Fever Curse. The Posetive Celsius. It's like… A hang over. You know, the morning after?"

"Damn Moody!" Holly cursed. "DAMN THEM ALL!" Holly smiled to let Jenna know she wasn't serious. Jenna laughed and continued reading her book. Holly tilted her head at her roommate.

"Why do you read?"

"It stimulates the mind."

"Yes, but why?" Jenna looked up with a smile and shook her head.

"Holly my poor, naïve, Holly. Your ignorance and malcontent with everything astounds me. Surely you must have some sort of interesting intellectual stimulation that exercises the door to your creativity!" Holly blinked. After a few minutes, she said:

"Did you just call me Shirly?" Jenna laughed.

"It's a façade, isn't it? You aren't really ignorant. You're just putting on a disguise as if you were at a masquerade ball. Are you searching for your Romeo?"  
"Huh?"

"Or have you already found him?" Jenna gave a mysterious smile. Holly frowned, utterly confused.

"What the hell did you just say?" Jenna merely returned to her novel. Holly's brow furrowed and she looked around the room. Every bed was made except for Jenna's (seeing as she was in it). Even Maria's bed was made. Something was wrong with this picture.

"Where's Maria? Why isn't she sleeping in?" 

"She did," Jenna responded without looking up. "She laid in peaceful slumber until the sun was at it's brightest. Nearly two hours ago."  
"WHAT?" Holly cried, jumping out of bed. "I'M MISSING A SATURDAY?!" Jenna laughed.  
"Relax, Holly, I am just being facetious."

"I don't care what you're doing, I have to get dressed and get downstairs!" Holly pulled on her jeans on her left leg so hard she fell over backwards. Jenna laughed even harder.  
"HOLLY!" She shrieked. "Relax, I was just kidding!"

"Now you're speaking my language!" Holly grinned. "So what time is it really?"

"Maria rose with the sun. It had something to do with a late Potions essay. It's 09-hundred hours."

"Hm, I thought Maria didn't wake up early for anyone. What time did you say it was?" Jenna rolled her eyes.

"Your ignorant façade is becoming vexatious. It's nine, child."

"Thanks!" Holly smiled. "I have no idea what you just said, but I have to get to breakfast. Oh, and by the way, you have a way too big vocabulary."

When Holly approached the Gryffindor table, she didn't know where to sit. Harry and his friends were no where in sight. The twins and Lee seemed to ignore her. She glanced up and down the table for Kristen or Megan, her other two roommates, but found that they were chatting away with their crushes and probably didn't want to be interrupted. She was just about to sit down and eat alone when she heard a voice call her name.

"Holly!" Cedric cried. "Over here!" Holly looked around, shrugged, and walked over to the Hufflepuff table. Cedric made room. Holly looked at the people he was sitting with. She had seen their faces, but hadn't really come in contact with them often. The only girl had lovely wavy cinnamon brown hair slightly past her shoulders. Her eyes were a soft brown. She wore dark eye make up, making her skin appear pale. She sat next to a young man with black hair and warm gray eyes. Sitting across from them was Cedric and a boy with dark blond hair and blue eyes.

"Holly, these are my friends, Erin, Ryan and beside me here is Drew. Guys, this is Holly, the Gryffindor that wrote to me over the holidays."

"He's told us a lot about you. You should feel special, he doesn't talk about anyone the way he talks about you." Erin held out her hand with a warm welcoming smile. Holly took it.

"Thank you," she said to the girl.

"I'd introduce you to Cho, but she doesn't seem to be here right now," Cedric said, glancing over at the Ravenclaw table.

"So what was that thing that happened in your defense class yesterday?" Ryan asked. Holly blushed slightly.

"Nothing, Professor Moody just got a little carried away, that's all."

"Lets change the subject," Cedric said. "Erin's thinking of entering the Tournament." Erin smiled and nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "But only because Cedric's too scared to put his name in alone."

"Shut up, Erin," Cedric hissed through his teeth.

"He doesn't like me calling him things in front of his crushes."

"Ex-crush," Cedric corrected hastily. Drew came to his rescue. 

"Don't mind her, she likes to mess. She'll say anything to embarrass Cedric. It's because she herself once dated him. She's very defensive."

"I am not!" Erin snapped. Drew grinned.

"My point exactly." Erin rolled her eyes.

"She's not really this bitchy normally. Only when Cedric's concerned," Ryan assured. Erin hit him.

"I do have a boyfriend you know!"

"That's supposed to mean you're over Cedric?" Drew asked.

"Ha. Ha." Erin forced a smile then turned to Holly. "They always tease me. But they're right, I'm in a bad mood. Snape seemed particularly frustrated yesterday and picked on me in class." Holly nodded, understanding.

"He took away 30 points from my house last year in two hours."

"Erin's a great person." As he said this, Cedric eyed Erin long and hard to let her know he meant what he'd said. He then turned to Holly and added in a whisper, "But don't get on her bad side."

"Valuable ally," Ryan agreed. "But a worse enemy."

"The twins," Holly nodded again with a sad sigh. 

"Don't we have to help Professor Sprout?" asked Drew. Cedric nodded.

"Yeah," he said. He then turned to Holly to explain. "Professor Sprout needs help with managing some of her young Whomping Willows. You coming?" Holly nodded, flattered that he'd invited her, and joined them. She'd always have a friend with Cedric.


	5. Emotional Outburst in the Hall

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A/N: I hope you are enjoying the story! The best part's at the end, though… I'm surprised! I haven't even gotten to the Halloween Feast yet!

Chapter Five: Emotional Outburst In the Halls…

Having been released out of Defense Against Dark Arts early (Professor Moody seemed so apologetic to the point of letting them out twenty minutes before the time), Holly waited for Cedric and his friends to come out of Charms on Monday afternoon.

"Hey, Holly!" Ryan greeted, the first one out of the class. "Waiting for Cedric?"

"All of you." Holly corrected, but nodded.

"I have to go to the library and write a four foot essay due tomorrow… I procrastinate. You won't want to come."

"I was thinking of going out on the grounds and doing something, actually…" Holly nodded again. "But I guess if you have to work…"

"Ask the others," Ryan encouraged. "I'm sure they'll go with you." As Ryan brusquely walked towards the library, Drew and Erin left together.

"You guys want to go out on the grounds and do something?"

"Like what—" Drew began, but was interrupted by Erin.  
"I'm allergic to grass." She forced a smiled. "Besides. Drew and I have a project to finish."

"Oh yeah! Sorry, Holly." Drew shrugged and followed Erin in the opposite direction of the library. Finally, Cedric came out.

"What's the matter?" he asked. "You're looking glum."

"I don't think your friends like me," Holly muttered. Cedric smiled.

"Don't be silly, they love you!"  
"Let me rephrase that," Holly said. "I don't think _Erin_ likes me."  
"Oh, Erin doesn't like anybody until she gets to know them. Oh, I know what'll cheer you up!" Cedric reached into his robe pocket and pulled out a twig and handed it to Holly whose eyebrow was raised in a skeptical expression.

"A stick?"

"Not just any stick!" Cedric cried, dramatically. "It's a _magic_ stick!"

"You mean a wand? It's a cheap looking wand if you ask me—"  
"No, not a wand!" Cedric rolled his eyes. "Here, watch this!" he pulled out his wand, pointed it at the stick, and concentrated hard. He muttered something.

"What are you…" But Holly trailed off as the stick shook in her hands and turned green. It then sprouted leaves and the bumps on the stick became thorns. Finally, a pale blossom as soft as silk struggled out of the tip of the twig. Holly smiled.

"Oh _I_ see! Your famous 'stick-into-flower' trick. Clever." Cedric frowned and nodded.  
"Yeah, it's usually quite a charmer. Have you talked to them yet?"

"Not a word since Lee screamed at me," Holly answered, truthfully. She knew by now that she could never avoid speaking about her dispute with Lee and the twins with Cedric. Cedric pulled something out of his pocket and turned it over in his hand.

"You really should. I've said that a million times by now. In fact, if you don't do it, then I will."  
"You wouldn't!" Holly laughed. Cedric nodded.

"It is a far, far better thing I do…" he said dramatically.

"What's in your hand?" Cedric could hear the mischief in Holly's voice.

"Oh no you don't! It's a coin, just a coin, nothing more, nothing less! A muggle currency, something I picked up in Peru!"

"It's your lucky coin, isn't it?" Holly pressed, the grin widening on her face.

"No, it's just— OY! How'd you do that?!" In seconds, the coin was in Holly's hand.

"The twins are great teachers when it comes to pick-pocketing!" Holly held the coin high above her head.

"Give it here!" Cedric demanded, jumping for the coin. Holly reached slightly behind her so he'd miss. He advanced on her and she backed away towards the wall, grinning. When her foot hit the cold stone of the castle wall, she knew she was stuck. She instantly hid the coin in her back pocket. Cedric made sure she wouldn't run by putting one arm on either side of her, trapping her in a small space.

"Give it to me!" he whispered. Holly, still smiling, shook her head.

"Not until you agree not to talk to the twins."  
"It's for your own good, now give me the damn coin!"

"It is a far, far better thing I do…" Holly mimicked. She looked up into his eyes and her smile faded. The smile he had held so vividly on his lips merely seconds ago was dwindling as well. Their eyes met and they stared, surprised at what they saw. Holly wasn't just _seeing_ his eyes, she was studying them harder than she ever had before. She was seeing deep into them, pools of knowledge and personality. She looked deep into his soul. He was an open book; everything about him lay bare before her.

Similarly, she knew he was looking into her own eyes, reading all her secrets as if it were a diary, left open on a bed. He understood her better than anybody, better than the twins ever could. He could see straight through her, straight through any façade or cover she could put up. He saw straight to her heart.

The scene was a frozen tableau of silent words and emotions running wild. They knew, and yet they had no idea, exactly what was going on. They had been so swept away by the moment…

They stared so long into each other that they could read each other's mind and know exactly what the other was thinking. And they were both thinking the same thing. Cedric leaned in, hesitantly at first. Holly noticed, but didn't move. She didn't flinch or pull away when she felt his warm hand on her arm. Her lips parted and her eyes closed. She drew in a quiet, shuddering breath and let it out. And when she did nothing to stop him, Cedric moved faster and their lips touched and locked. Cedric put his arm around her and she moved closer to him. It took her a moment to come to her senses and realize what exactly was going on. Suddenly frightened, her eyes snapped open and she pushed him away.

"No," she said, stubbornly, her eyes on the stone floor. She couldn't look into those eyes because she knew if she did, they'd consume her.

"No?" Cedric barely uttered the word in surprise, confusion written on his face as he tried to process what she'd said and figure out what game she was playing. Finally, the word seemed to sink into his brain and he shook his head to clear it. He stared at her, dumbfounded. "NO?" He repeated, louder.

"No." Holly had tears in her eyes, but she wouldn't allow Cedric to see them. She kept her gaze on the floor.

"No?!" Cedric was trying hard to understand what this girl was doing. Moments ago, he knew her every thought, but she had changed in those few minutes that had passed and was now completely different and inscrutable.

"I… I can't do this, Cedric," she whispered, shaking her head sadly. "Not you. Not now."  
"Then when?" Cedric demanded with nervous laughter. "Because I can wait! I've waited this long."

"Not now…" Holly repeated, her head still moving from side to side. "Not… Not with you."  
"What?" The way Cedric said the word, so shocked, so hurt, so… heartbroken… made Holly look up at him. She could see straight to his heart through his eyes and she could see that it was tearing into. She also saw that it was her hand that was ripping it apart. It was the second time she was breaking his heart. Only this time, it was worse. Holly blinked away her tears.

"You… We have such a great friendship, Cedric. I hate it when people ruin their friendships with romantic relationships, don't you?"

"But…" Cedric just couldn't understand as he stood staring. "But… But I… I _love_ you." He said it as if it was the answer to all the problems, all the questions. Holly cringed. That word. 'Love.' From him, from Cedric… love. He loved her. Someone actually truly loved her. And she had no doubt he meant it.

"We… We can't, Cedric," she said with a straight face.  
"But _why!"_ Cedric demanded, anger suddenly flaring in his eyes. "_Why_ can't we do it? I love you, Holly! I've always loved you! I've been a good friend to you, haven't I? Your idea about being friends first was actually a blessing in disguise! I know you better because of it! We know things about each other that… that… _Why?!_"

"Because… Because…" But Holly couldn't think of a reason. Suddenly, a horrible thought struck the poor boy and his anger left him and was replaced with hurtful surprise.

"You… you do love me too, don't you? That… That kiss… It was amazing… Didn't it mean anything to you?" Holly was torn. A part of her told her she couldn't, she just couldn't. But the other part of her screamed for her to take him, to kiss him again and let him know everything was alright. But she held back. She couldn't. But _why_, she kept asking herself. _Why?_ Not even she knew.

"I… That kiss… It _was_ amazing… But… Now's not the time. Later." Cedric was angry again. He threw up his arms in frustration.

"Later, later, later! It's always later to you! It's not a question of you not loving me and trying to spare my feelings. That kiss _told_ me you like me. You like me a lot. Maybe you're just too blind too see it. You're blind to everything else. Like the Weasleys! Faithful old Fred and George, always there! I have a news flash for you, Holly Phillips! You think you're the center of the universe! Well you're not! Now I'm sick of all these 'laters!' I want an answer now! Where do I stand with you?" Holly was quiet as she stared down at her feet again.

"We're just friends, Cedric. We'll always be friends." Cedric sighed and shook his head, shifting his weight onto one foot and putting his hands on his hips.  
"I was afraid you'd say that," he whispered, sadly. Finally, he looked at her again and she looked up. He could see her brown eyes shimmering. "Well then. It might be convenient for you, Holly, but it's as sure as hell _killing_ me. You're a great friend, Holly. You really are. But I want to be more than just friends; Did that ever occur to you? You're a wonderful person. You're gorgeous, into Quidditch, funny, charismatic. But the earth doesn't revolve around you, Miss. Queen of the Earth. Other people live here too and I don't know when you'll realize that. I'll never be good enough for you, will I? Well I'll just have to learn to live with that. I pity the lucky fool who gets to cater to your every egotistic whim. See you, Holly…" And with that, he turned his back on her and walked down the hall, his stride long and his heart heavy.

Holly burst into tears.

"Why are you crying?"

"Go away!" Holly lashed her hand out at whoever had spoken. Her face was buried in her arms and she couldn't see who was speaking to her.

"I heard you never cry," the mystery man said.  
"Well you heard a lie."

"Come on, Holly, it must be something serious. I know you. You wouldn't cry like this if something wasn't something terrible."

"I don't care who you are, just leave me alone!" Holly shouted. The person sighed.

"If that's really how you want it. You've just always been there for me, I just thought I could return the favor…" Holly stopped crying a moment and looked up. She saw Harry Potter retreating to a corner.

"No…" she whispered. He turned. "I'm sorry. I'm just upset. Come back, Harry. Please." Harry did so with a comforting smile.

"What is it? What's bothering you?"

"Cedric…" Holly murmured. "And why I turned him down. I don't know why I did it. Something in me was just so hesitant, so worried. I don't know what was wrong with me. I suppose it's for the best."

"Yeah…" Harry seemed disappointed and Holly smiled, despite herself.

"Big thing, huh? It's not just that, though," she added. "It's the twins. They hate me too. And Lee. Hell, even my roommates are ignoring me. Why does everyone hate me?!" she started crying again

"Everyone does not hate you, Holly!" Harry sounded surprised.

"Oh really, like who?" Holly asked, so upset she didn't realize what he'd actually been implying. He gave a nervous smile.

"Well… Like me. I don't hate you, Holly. I don't hate you." Holly stopped crying once more and looked up at her little brother. She smiled, sincerely.

"Thanks, Harry," she said. "That's the best thing anyone's ever said to me all year." Harry sat down in a chair next to Holly as she dried her eyes. There was a moment of silence. Finally, Harry spoke to her.

"What happened?"

"I already told you what happened," Holly smiled, warmly.

"Not that," he said, shaking his head. "I mean what happened to you? Between your fourth and fifth year, what changed you?"  
"You mean why did I become so emotional all of a sudden."

"Yeah." Harry nodded. Holly sighed.

"I'm not quite sure what happened myself. But let me tell you this. At the beginning of last year, I had never cried in my life. Never. Not when Fred and George broke my arm, not when my dad died, never. And I had never screamed at anyone or yelled about anything they did. I was so patient, I didn't even _have_ a temper. The Weasley twins and I never fought. All those years and not a single tear! But then, something changed..." Holly snapped out of her daydream and looked at Harry. "Did I ever tell you I was adopted?" Harry shook his head. Holly continued. "Well… Anyway. I suppose the best way to say this is I found myself. That year, I found out who I really was. I wasn't who I'd always thought I was, the boring adopted daughter of Elise and Jason Phillips. I mean, I knew I was adopted, but I'd always thought that was the most interesting fact about me. I'd often imagined things, things like I was the daughter of an English noble woman who fell in love with a red-haired Irish popper and had to give her baby away and… well, things like that. But that's all it was, imagining. But I had a secret so dark and deep that even I didn't know it. My past was more interesting then any of my fantasies. And, well, I guess when I discovered it, all my memories, all that I am came rushing back to me like an large ocean wave…" Harry nodded.

"I know that feeling," he said. "I never thought I was anything either. That is, until I turned eleven when I realized I'm a famous wizard." Holly nodded with a smile.

"I think you do understand me," she said. 

"Well!" Harry yawned and stood up. "I'm going to bed."

"OK."

"And Holly?" Harry looked over his shoulder over at the girl. "Can I offer some advice?"

"Yeah?"

"Show them."

"Sorry?"

"Do something to show them that you support them. I've heard you say that you can't tell them you're sorry, so show them." Holly smiled, sincerely.

"Thanks, Harry. Thanks a lot."

Holly didn't sleep that night. She grabbed a quill, rainbow ink, and bright colored parchment and began her project. In the morning, she asked Kristen, Megan and Maria to help her. They were only too happy to oblige. Too full of excitement to be tired, Holly set up her post outside the Great Hall and began.


	6. Winning Back the Twins' Trust

Chapter Six: Winning Back the Twins' Trust

"What are you _doing?_" The girl seemed appalled. Holly just grinned.

"Want to try and win a broom?" Erin gave Holly a twisted smile.

"You're raffling off a broomstick?"

"A Nimbus 2001. I would have done a Firebolt, but the most recent one I have is a Nimbus 2001. You can inspect it if you want, to make sure it isn't fake or anything or some sort of scam." Holly held out the broom. Erin looked down at it distastefully.

"Listen, Phillips," she said, looking back up at Holly. "Last time you caught me, I was in a bad mood, but I really did like you. But I like my friends. They're all I've got. And when they're hurt, I'm hurt. You hurt me, you're in for hell. Now I know you hurt Cedric. So I just want to know one thing. Why don't you like him? He's a great guy, girls would _kill_ to have him! And don't you dare say I want to date him again. Because I don't, even my friends know it. It's just a little joke we have. Just, stay away from him, you hear?" And with that, Erin turned on her heal and walked away.

"She was pleasant, wasn't she?" Kristen whispered.

"You just have to know her," Holly replied. "Her dad left her and her mom when she was a kid. She doesn't trust easily and protects those she does trust."

"She's not in Hufflepuff, is she?"

"She is." Holly nodded.  
"She doesn't seem the type."

"She is." Holly repeated. "Uh oh. Here comes Ryan. I hope he still likes me."

"A raffle, huh?" the black-haired boy was skeptical.

"He doesn't," Kristen muttered.

"Why are you having a raffle?" Ryan asked.

"It's for a good cause. A galleon a ticket, six tickets for five galleons!" Ryan was still doubtful.

"What's the good cause?"

"Check out the sign," Holly replied, gesturing at her brightly colored poster. Ryan nodded. 

"A joke shop, huh? For the twins?"

"That's right." Ryan put down five galleons.

"Why not?" he sighed as Holly gave him his six tickets. As he was leaving, he turned around to Holly.

"Look," he said, slightly awkward. "I'm sure you're a great person. But how can you break someone's heart like that?" He walked away shaking his head. Holly shook off the horrible guilt that was rising in the pit of her stomach.  
"So, how much do we have?" Holly asked, turning to Jenna. Jenna looked in the box.

"Including that Hufflepuff's… a hundred galleons."

"Not bad…" Holly muttered.

"A hundred and one." Holly looked up and noticed Drew, holding out a galleon. "Where's my ticket?" Holly ripped off a ticket, her face expressionless, and handed it to Drew.

"Unlike Erin…" Drew started, "I'm not angry with you. I… I don't understand what you're thinking. And I don't think I ever will." Drew sighed and walked away. Holly turned to Kristen.

"They all don't like me," she said. "Drew just has the nicest way of saying it." Kristen nodded, then turned to Megan and Jenna.  
"You two," she said, "Go advertise. Maria, you take over our profits." Jenna and Megan nodded and disappeared. Maria walked over to where Jenna had been, counting the money. Kristen then turned to Holly. "As for you, dear, gimme six tickets, I want that broom!" Holly laughed and nodded at Maria.

"Give it to her!"

"Go sleep, Holly," Maria suggested. "You were up all night."

"No," Holly declined. "I want to stay here, raise the money. For the twins."

"Holly?" Holly cringed as she heard that voice. "Holly, is that you?" Holly closed her eyes and took a deep breath as Cedric came over to the table.

"Hello, Cedric!" Holly forced a smile and took on a business like manner. "Would you like to try and win a broom?" Cedric looked at the poster, then at Holly, than pulled out five galleons.  
"I'm doing this for the twins," he said, then added, "_Not_ for you." Holly nodded, understanding.

"For the twins," she agreed. "Everything for the twins." As Cedric walked away, Holly felt her heart melt in her chest. Those eyes… She was right, whenever she looked at them, they consumed her.

It was five o'clock and Kristen was on watch of the money. She was sleeping over the box it was kept in, hugging it defensively as if it were some sort of stuffed toy. Holly smiled. Maria sat in a corner, drawing in her sketchbook, Jenna was sitting in the chair doing her homework, and Megan was drawing words and pictures on the sleeping Kristen's arm. 

"Megan," said Holly. "How much do we have?"

"Um…" Megan tried to pull the money box away from Kristen, but she just pulled it back.

"Mine!" the sleeping girl muttered. Megan laughed.  
"Last I checked, about 197."

"Wow, really?" Maria looked up from her sketchbook. Megan nodded at her. "We didn't do too bad. We're doing the drawing in half an hour, right Holly?"

"Yes," Holly replied. "At five thirty." As she said it, she noticed the Weasley twins and Lee look her way and slowly walk over to the stand.

"Holly…" George muttered. "That's your favorite broom! Your _only_ broom!"

"A broom's a broom," Holly shrugged. "I don't fly it as much as I'd like anyway. And my mom says she might get me another one for Christmas or something…" Lee frowned, confused.

"You're auctioning off your broom?" Holly nodded.

"I'd heard about it, but I didn't think…" Fred shook his head, shocked.

"Why?" Lee asked. Holly shifted uncomfortably and blushed slightly.

"Well, I needed to raise money…"

"For what?" Fred cried. Holly sighed and licked her lips.

"Well, your joke won't go anywhere if you don't have any money behind it."

"What?" Fred, George, and Lee gaped. Holly nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "And we're three galleons away from an even 200." Lee smiled.

"In that case," he said, reaching into his pocket. "Where are my tickets?" Holly took his money and gave him his tickets.

"Thanks, Lee."

"Thank you," Lee answered.

"Hey Holly, when's this drawing?" George asked.

"In half an hour."  
"When it's over, do you want to go and ruin the days of a few Slytherins?" Fred's face was full of excitement and Holly would have laughed. They were incorrigible. And they were forgiving her. This was a day well spent. 

The night was another story. Dreams are intricately woven fairytales of the mind, a spider web linking one event to another, a collage of memories. Dreams can also be a way of finding peace.

"Daddy…" Holly let her father's strong arms embrace her and hold her close. She rested her head against his stomach. She was a little girl again, in her Sunday best.

"I love you, sweetheart," Her father whispered into her dark red hair.

"Daddy, why did you leave me?"

"Death is a natural way of life," her father replied to the young girl of around seven or eight.

"Death is not a way of life," the girl said, wisely. "Death is the opposite of life." But her father shook his head.

"No, honey," he said. "Death and life are different, but they aren't opposites."

"But Daddy…" Holly was confused. "How can that be? If something's not dead, it's alive. If something's not alive, it's dead, isn't it?" Her father smiled warmly.

"I only wish the line was as clean cut as that. There are those who walk and talk and eat like you do, and yet, they are more dead than I am. Death and life aren't opposites. Death and life aren't good or evil, they just are. They coexist, creating a balance in the world. If all who lived never died, do you know how crowded this earth would be?"

"How did you die, Daddy?" Holly asked. Her father's smile became a grim one.

"There was a dispute… At my office… He hadn't meant any harm, sweetheart. We were both out of hand. It resulted in my death."

"Mummy said you fell," Holly said.  
"In a way I did," her father nodded. "He hadn't meant any harm, honey, he hadn't meant any harm at all…"  
"What do you mean?"

"Sweetheart…" Her father kneeled down to her level. "Honey… Don't say anything. He hadn't meant any harm. He hadn't known the stairs were behind me and he didn't mean to push so hard… Don't tell anyone."  
"You were pushed?" Holly stepped away from her father, surprised. Her father said nothing. Finally, it sunk into Holly's young mind. "You were pushed…"

"You never told me!" Holly shouted into the flames. "You never said a word!"

"Sweetheart, calm down…"

"Don't call me sweetheart. Dad called me sweetheart." Holly noticed her mother sigh and shake her head.

"It had been an accident, Holly. I had no reason to worry you about it. You know how much your father loved to say exactly what was on his mind. He was a very, er, truthful person. His colleague just thought he'd gone too far. He hadn't known they were even near the stairs. But he was found guilty of manslaughter. Please, Holly, calm down this was five years ago!"

"I don't care!" Holly screamed into the fire. "I don't care! You lied to me!"

"Holly, please, it's Sunday, relax!" Holly took a deep breath and sighed.

"OK, I'll relax," she said. "But I haven't forgiven you." Holly dowsed the flames and went down to breakfast.

"Cedric?" the young man turned and looked at Holly, who appeared very timid. Holly didn't know what he was thinking. His eyes were blank.  
"I don't need to talk to you, Holly," Cedric muttered, and turned away.

"Cedric, I just came to let you know…" Holly squeezed something in her hand, then reached behind her and pulled out a broom. "You won the drawing. The broom… It's yours."

"Thanks," Cedric mumbled and took the broom. "Is that all?"  
"Yeah… You… I never gave you your coin back." Holly dropped the Peruvian coin in Cedric's hand. Cedric's fingers closed over the coin, and then he opened his hand again.

"Thanks," he said again, and turned away. Holly sighed and walked over to the Gryffindor table where Lee and the twins sat.

"Are you sure you guys don't hate me?" she asked when she sat down. Fred, George, and Lee nodded.

"Bygones," Fred mumbled through his eggs.

"We just didn't think you liked us anymore," George added. "We thought you thought we were crazy or stupid or something and that our joke shop would never work."

"I must admit," Lee smiled weakly. "I was mad at you for a while. But then, I missed you, Holly."

"We all missed you," Fred added. 

"And we wanted to apologize," said George. "You know, for not treating you as well as we should have, but we were afraid you'd laugh at us or throw it back in our faces or something." Holly laughed.

"You didn't have to apologize!" she cried. "I was the one who said things I didn't mean."  
"Yeah, but so did I," Lee reminded her. "And I didn't know if you'd accept an apology."

"But you did mean it, Lee…" Holly sighed. "You were right, I've changed. And I'll try and be better about it."

"And we should have been more understanding," George said. "About whatever's been going on with you."

"No, you were right. You were just acting like you always do. The day you become understanding is the day the world goes crazy!"

"Would you all stop arguing already? 'I was wrong,' 'No, _I_ was wrong,' 'No, _me_!' It's sickening! As I said, bygones! Lord, just shut up!" Fred rolled his eyes. Lee looked at Holly.

"They're back to normal with you around again," he said.

"Where are they?" Holly asked, looking all around the grounds.

"Dunno," Lee replied. "There are too many people here, I can't see a thing."

"They're here," said the voice of a female student nearby. "Durmstrang's on the lake and Beauxbatons has this huge carriage…"

"Thanks," said Holly to the friendly stranger. The girl smiled. She had lovely black hair and dark eyes. "I'm Holly."

"Cho Chang." The girl held out her hand. "I know you! Cedric…"

"Yeah, tell him I'm sorry, would you?" Holly blushed. "I really didn't mean to hurt anyone." Cho nodded, understanding.

"You just didn't feel the same way towards him, did you?" Holly looked surprised.

"Is that what he told you?"

"Well, why else would you turn down someone like Cedric?" Cho shrugged. "I know how you feel. I had this friend who was really sweet, and not bad in the looks department. A lot of girls wanted him. But not me, and I was the only girl he wanted. Poor guy. He got over it though. Don't worry, Cedric's strong. Everything will be alright." Holly smiled sadly.

"Yeah…" Her regret over what she'd done suddenly increased immensely. Suddenly, there was nothing she'd rather do more than just hold Cedric close and tell him that everything would be alright.

"You don't seem like a bad person," Cho said. "I understand how Cedric feels and why he's trying to not speak to you, but his friends might be overreacting. You aren't some wicked person. You just…"  
"Yeah," Holly interrupted, rather hastily. Cho smiled.

"If you ever need me, I'll be your friend."

"Thank you, Cho. If you ever need me, I'll be your friend too."

And that was how it began.

The Goblet of Fire was set up in the Entrance Hall.  
"You're not doing it."  
"Like hell we aren't!" Fred and George grinned at each other.  
"Give it up, Holly," Lee said, sadly. "There's no stopping them."

"We need that money, Holly!" George cried.

"How are you going to get past that age line?" Holly demanded.

"How do you think?" Fred readied his wand, his twin copying him. Holly rolled her eyes.

"I'm not a part of this!" she called as she turned her back on them and walked upstairs. In the hall, she ran into Cho Chang.

"Cedric and Erin entered their names in the goblet," Cho informed her.

"They said they were going to do it." Holly nodded. "In the meantime, the twins are trying to fool the age line." Cho smiled.

"Sounds like them. They have a school wide reputation for things like that."

"They're famous!" Holly laughed.

"Tell them I wished them luck!" Cho called over her shoulder as she walked down the stairs. Holly shook her head, laughing. Everything was back to normal. Everything except…

"Cedric…" Holly sighed. What was she going to do about Cedric? Was she falling in love with him? Had she made the wrong choice?

Instantly she shook off the feeling by shaking her head.

"No," she laughed at herself. Her laughter was suddenly cut short as she realized how much she missed him. "Cedric…" she whispered the name once more in the hope that it might make him forgive her. Unsurprisingly, it didn't.


	7. The Goblet of Fire

Chapter Seven: The Goblet Of Fire

"Nice beards, you two." Holly smiled as she helped Fred and George to the hospital wing.

"Shut up, Holly," George muttered. Lee was following in fits of hysterical laughter.

"Hurry up, you two. I don't want to miss the feast."

"Go on without us, if we take that long," Fred said, glumly. "We have nothing to look forward to." Holly smiled, compassionately and put her arm around Fred's shoulder.  
"Don't worry, Fred. You'll get your money some time."

"It would help if Bagman would quit cheating us out of our money!"

"You guys need to relax more. You'll be done before the feast. Here you guys are. I have to go talk to someone. Bye!"

"Bye." Fred and George waved after her, halfheartedly.

"Bye, Holly," Lee said with a weak smile.

"Harry!" Holly cried, catching up with him. Her brother turned.

"Hello, Holly," he said. Holly was grinning.

"Thank you very much for your advice."

"It worked, I see." Harry returned the smile.

"I really owe you one."

"Don't worry about it!" Harry laughed.

"Well, it would really help if you could give me some more amazing advice like that to help me with Cedric…" But Harry shrugged.

"I'm sorry, I'm not messing in anyone's love life." Holly smiled, wanly.

"Yeah, I understand that."

"See you at the feast!" Harry called, as he walked away.  
"Yeah, you too…" she sighed.

The feast wasn't as exciting as Holly had been expecting. She sat with the twins, who were now beard free, and Lee Jordan, as well as Harry and his friends. It was an exceptionally crowded hall, with the Beauxbatons students sitting with the Ravenclaws and the Durmstrang students with the Slytherins. It was like every other feast. Except at the end, when Dumbledore stood up to announce the three champions for the school.

"Who do you think it'll be for Hogwarts?" Hermione asked, trying to make conversation. Fred and George just gave unhappy grumbles.

"Dunno," Holly replied. "I'm not quite sure I know everyone who entered their names."

"Then who do you think it _should_ be for Hogwarts?" Harry said. Holly glanced at Fred and George and Ron and smiled.

"A Weasley," she said. The twins and their brother, Ron, looked at her. The twins smiled, appreciatively. Ron looked suspicious.

"Did you do something Holly?" he asked.

"Oh no, there's nothing I _could_ do." Holly shook her head. "And don't you two look at me like that!" she added, as she noticed identical grins grow on the twins' faces. "I believe in you a lot, but I wouldn't go so far as to put your names in the goblet, or find out a way how to." Fred and George looked down at their plates, disappointed. Hermione laughed.

"Will they stop at nothing?" she cried.

"That's the twins for you!" Lee laughed.

As the feast wound down, Dumbledore stood to announce the champions. A silence fell over the hall. The names were announced: Viktor Krum was to represent Durmstrang. He stood from the Slytherin table and went into a room behind the teachers' table. Fleur Delacour, the girl Ron had been gawking at all night, was to represent Beauxbatons. She rose elegantly from amongst the Ravenclaws and followed Krum's path. Finally, the Hogwarts champion was announced.

"Cedric Diggory." The roar that came from the Hufflepuffs was incredible. Erin, Ryan and Drew cheered louder than all of them. Holly sat in her chair, dumbstruck for a moment. Had Dumbledore said… When the information had sunk in, she rose to her feet and screamed after him.

"GO CEDRIC!" she called. She glanced at the Ravenclaw table and noticed Cho was doing the same thing. They grinned at each other and clapped even louder. Dumbledore motioned for quiet. He was in the middle of concluding his speech, when another name was spat out of the goblet. He hesitated before he read it out loud, as surprised as everyone else.

"…Harry Potter…" No one clapped this time. All eyes flew to the Boy Who Lived. All eyes, except for Holly's. Holly stared at the headmaster in utter denial. He hadn't said it; Holly was imagining it. Dumbledore would never do that! If it hadn't happened, then why was Harry awkwardly getting to his feet? If Dumbledore hadn't called Harry's name, then why was the boy nervously walking to the door behind the teachers' table? As Harry disappeared behind the door, Holly could contain her disbelief no longer.

"What did you just say?!" She cried. All eyes moved from the door where Harry Potter had disappeared, to the red-haired girl who stood in disbelief, questioning the headmaster of the school. Dumbledore looked at the girl for a moment, then dropped his gaze.

"Miss. Phillips, please sit down and wait here for a moment," Dumbledore said as he disappeared after Harry.

Minutes past, and Holly sat in her seat, body tense and biting her lip so hard it began to bleed. Finally, she could take it no longer. She jumped to her feet and walked steadily after the others. Hagrid stood in her way.

"Now, Holly, you can' go in there!" he said, holding her back with one massive hand. Holly couldn't stand it any longer. Why were people treating her as if it wasn't her concern?

"LOOK!" she shouted at Hagrid and everyone else in the hall. "Dumbledore told me something at the beginning of this year! I have to watch out for that kid! You don't understand, I can't explain…" Holly took a deep breath to calm herself down. Finally, she lowered her voice and looked piercingly into Hagrid's eyes. "I'm sure Dumbledore will want me to know what's going on."  
"And I'm sure if Dumbledore wanted yeh to know what was goin' on, he would 'ave told yeh to come with him! Now take a seat, Holly!" Hagrid gave Holly his own piercing gaze. 

"OK, I am fed up with everyone treating my like this doesn't concern me!"

"But Holly, it _doesn't _concern yeh right now! I know Harry's a close friend of yers, but—"

"Close friend?!" Holly scoffed. "_Close friend?!_ Let me tell you something about Harry Potter! He's…" But Holly stopped herself, before it was too late. Again, she took a deep breath to calm herself. Her next words were in a whisper, so only Hagrid could hear, even in the silent hall. "Let me just say this. If Harry had only one living member of his immediate family to count on, it would be me. And that would mean he was the only living member of _my_ immediate family, which would mean that he means everything to me. It would make him my brother and me his sister. And a sister looks out for her little brother. Understand?" Hagrid gave her a doubtful look. He was about to say something, when the door Holly was trying to get to swung open.

"What is all this noise?" Dumbledore demanded, then he saw the only living daughter of James and Lily Potter. "Oh I see… Holly."  
"Professor, he won't let me see Harry!" Dumbledore looked from Holly to Hagrid then to Holly again.

"Holly, I told you to take your seat."

"But professor, you told me I needed to look out for Harry!" Holly was dumbfounded. Dumbledore nodded calmly and passively.

"Take your seat, Holly. I will be with you in a moment." And with that, Dumbledore disappeared behind the door again. Holly sighed and looked at Hagrid with malice. He tried to smile warmly at her, but it didn't warm her feelings. She stomped back to the Gryffindor table and didn't leave her seat again until everyone had left the hall.

"You have to get up sometime, Holly." Dumbledore tried to coax Holly off of the bench.

"No," Holly said, simply and casually. "You told me to sit right here."

"And that I'd be with you in a moment. I'm with you now." Holly nodded her head in agreement.

"Yes, you are. So, you straightened the whole thing out, did you?" Dumbledore nodded with a slight smile.  
"We did."

"So how did it happen? Why did Harry's name come out as a fourth champion?"  
"We don't know."  
"How did his name get in the goblet? Surely he didn't put it in himself. Did someone else put it in? And if so, who?"

"We don't know."

"And how could you let this happen? The goblet should know there's only three schools. Did someone enchant it, or is it broken or what?"

"We don't know."

"Then apparently you didn't sort anything out!" Holly snapped. She sighed and apologized. "I'm just a little on edge. Well, at least he's not going to be in the competition."

"Holly…" Dumbledore started. Holly frowned. "Holly, Harry is going to compete alongside the other three students." Holly stared.

"OK, now, you _really _didn't sort _anything_ out! This is my brother we're talking about! You can't let him compete! It will my job of looking after him that much harder!" Dumbledore smiled weakly.

"The rules say that the champions that the Goblet of Fire chooses must compete."

"But surely an exception can be made! He's fourteen years old, Professor! He's only in his fourth year of school! How the hell is he supposed to compete with people like those he's competing with?"  
"Please watch your language, Holly."

"Sorry, Professor," Holly said insincerely. "But you just can't let him compete, you just can't!"

"I am afraid the decision has already been made. And I am having an incredible sense of Déjà Vu. This topic had already been discussed and agreed upon. Believe me, not many people were happy about this decision, but we must abide by the rules! No exceptions can be made."

"But Dumbledore, he's only a child…" Holly's passion was dwindling as she realized she was fighting a losing battle. But Dumbledore smiled and that old twinkle came back to his eye again.

"My dear Miss Phillips, in many ways, Harry is more prepared for this than you are, and you are two years ahead of him."

"I resent that!" Holly cried. "I may not be valedictorian of my graduating class, but as you said, I _am_ two years ahead of him!"

"If I may say so, Holly," Dumbledore said, shaking his head with a smile, "I think you're being pretentious."

"And why do you say that?" Holly asked, putting her hand on her hip and shifting her weight onto one foot.

"You underestimate the boy. There's more to him than meets the eye. There's more there than you give him credit for." Holly sighed and shook her head.

"He'll never be ready for that tournament. You know that, right? He'll fail miserably."

"Believe in him, Holly. He'll pull through in the end. He always does." And with a mysterious smile, he exited the hall. Sighing, Holly followed.

She entered the Entrance Hall and as she started walking towards the stairs, she heard a voice behind her.

"Hello, Holly. I was wondering when you'd get out of that seat." Holly turned and noticed Harry step out from the corner by the door to the Great Hall. She smiled.

"Harry," she said, walking towards him. His face was cold. "What is it?"

"I was hoping I could find at least one person who trusted me. And I'm glad to see that you're the only one who has faith in me, Holly." And with that, he roughly brushed her shoulder as he walked past her. Holly could have kicked herself.

"…And then he just walked away." There was a pause as Holly waited for a response from Fred, George, and Lee the next morning. Finally, Fred started laughing. "I don't see anything funny about this!" Holly snapped, though she had expected something like this out of them.

"I'm sorry Holly," he said when he stopped laughing. "It's just, it seems as if you're trying to get every single one of your friends angry with you before the First Task!"

"It does appear to be that way, doesn't it?" Holly had to chuckle a little at it herself. "But still. I need to apologize to him."

"You need to apologize to everyone!" Lee rolled his eyes.

"Later," George said, yawning. "We have to get to History of Magic and look, I'm tired and the lesson hasn't even started!"

"Is Cedric still avoiding you?" Cho asked Holly a few days after the feast.

"He won't say one word to me," Holly replied, sadly. "He just acts as if I'm not even there." Cho patted Holly on the back, comfortingly.

"The best remedy is time. It heals all wounds."  
"But the reminder of a scar will stay. Oh Cho, do you think he'd ever forgive me?" Cho smiled.

"He has to. There's no way he could stay mad at you for long."

"And to make matters worse, Harry won't speak to me either. He thinks I don't have faith in him."

"You really need to relax more. It seems as if you're breaking everybody's heart," Cho said with a laugh.

"You know, the twins said almost exactly the same thing…" Holly smirked.

"Cedric can I talk to you?" Holly cornered the boy as he exited his Arithmancy classroom. He looked away and didn't meet her eyes.

"No," he said, simply. Holly smiled faintly and fingered something she was holding behind her back. As Cedric pushed past her, she pulled it out.

"Wait!" she called as he walked down the hall. He recoiled and froze. Finally, he turned.

"What is it?" Holly smiled and showed him the flower in her hand.

"The white rose," she said. "Originally a twig. I figured it out." The corners of his mouth twitched in what might have been the start of a smile, but his face became inscrutable and Holly wondered if she had imagined it.

"Great."

"Yeah… Say, do you want it?" Holly held it out to the Hufflepuff, but he didn't take it. He pushed her hands away from him.

"No," he said. And with that, he turned and walked away. Holly nearly burst into tears right then and there, but she held strong.

"OK then…" she whispered with a shuddering breath. 

"Hello, Holly, how are you this fine morning, lovely weather we're having, isn't it, what are you having for lunch?" Hermione said all of this extremely fast as she slid into a seat next to Holly. Holly raised an eyebrow, skeptically.

"Good morning to you too, Hermione…" she said, hesitantly.

"Actually, it just turned noon…" Hermione said, looking at her watch. "But I hope you _had_ a good morning! I'd love to hear about your morning, by the way, and about your classes and your social life and your private life and your woes and your joys and your embarrassing moments and your triumphs and your deep dark secrets and things everyone knows about you and— Oh, hell! Just tell me everything!" Hermione spoke at the speed of light. Holly looked her up and down, doubtfully.

"Did you take too much Prozac this morning? Because you seem like you've had one too many pep pills." Hermione laughed.

"Oh Holly!" she cried, "You're so funny!" Holly nodded, slowly.

"Right… I think I should get you to the hospital wing…" Hermione just laughed harder. Finally she stopped. She had a smile on her face, but her eyes were desperate.

"I'm sorry, Holly," she said. "I've just been under some pressure recently and I absolutely _need_ to get away from Harry and— Oh no…" Hermione groaned and buried her head in her hands as Fred and George approached them with Ron. Holly, who was particularly observant at that moment, realized that Hermione probably didn't want to speak to Ron.

"Um, tell you what, you three… Lee will be here in a moment. You guys stay here, me and Hermione are going to have a little girl talk. You coming, Hermione?" Hermione looked up from her arms and smiled.

"Yeah, girl talk, I'm coming." She stood up and followed Holly out of the hall. As they left, Hermione leaned in to Holly and whispered, "It's 'Hermione and _I_' by the way."

"Thanks for the grammar tip. Why don't you want to be around Harry or Ron?" Holly asked. Hermione sighed.

"It's not that I don't like them, I love them both like brothers. It's just… Well… THEY'RE DRIVING ME MAD!" Hermione stopped and began to breathe heavily.

"Calm down, Hermione, don't hyperventilate on me right now." Hermione relaxed.

"I'm sorry. But I just can't stand it! They've been like this for weeks! They won't talk to each other, they keep telling me reasons why they won't apologize and it's just crazy! Harry won't admit it, but he needs Ron, now more than ever! And Ron's falling to pieces without Harry. And I feel like the only reason they want to talk to me is to make the other jealous! I just can't stand it any more! I'm not going to be the mediator for those two anymore! They need to sort things out themselves!"  
"And in the meantime," Holly added. "You're welcome to waste time with me." Hermione smiled.

"Thanks," she said, gratefully.


	8. The First Task

Chapter Eight: The First Task

"Harry?" Holly timidly approached the table where Harry was studying. He looked up.

"Oh, hi, Holly. Listen, sorry about the other night. I'd just found out that Ron thought I'd put my name in the goblet."

"He knows you didn't. And you and Dumbledore were both right, I have underestimated you. I'm sure you'll do fine in that Tournament, no, better, you'll win it. Trust me." Holly winked at him. He gave her a wan smile.

"Yeah, win the Tournament," he said with grim laughter. "Like that'll ever happen."  
"Oh believe me, it will. You know that biblical story—"

"David and Goliath?" Harry asked.

"No, the Tortoise and the Hare," Holly replied.

"That's not a… Never mind." Harry laughed as he decided not to contradict her.

"Anyway, you're like the Tortoise. He had a disadvantage to the hare: he was slower. You also have a disadvantage. But remember who won in the end?"

"The hare?" Harry guessed with a smile. Holly rolled her eyes.

"Yeah," she said, sarcastically. "The hare."

"There has to be another reason you're here," Harry said after a moment of thought. Holly sighed.

"You know me too well," she said.

"Well?"  
"Ron."

"I thought so…"

"Harry, you know you have to make up with him sometime." Holly pulled up a chair and sat next to the boy.

"You sound like Hermione…" Harry muttered.

"Well then I'm glad! She's smarter than I am, anyway." Harry chuckled. There was a brief period of silence. Finally, Harry spoke.

"I like Ron. Really, I do. But I just can't believe he'd think I'd do something like that. And I thought he knew me…"  
"Better than you knew yourself?" Holly asked. Harry smiled with irony.

"Yeah…" he said, then added, with his smile disappearing, "But he doesn't." Holly nodded, understanding.

"I know someone like that," she said. "And now he's mad at me and won't ever forgive me. You don't want to ruin this whole friendship over some silly Tournament thing."

"Yeah. But it just hurt when he accused me of it. He hated me at that moment, Holly. He really did. I never thought I'd ever see him _hate_ me. And don't even try to tell me he didn't!" Harry added as he noticed Holly open her mouth to do so. "He thought I was an attention seeker! Well I'm not! It's not my bloody fault!" Harry's anger was rising. Holly laughed nervously.

"Calm down, Harry, we _are_ in a library."

"Doesn't he know how dangerous this thing is? Doesn't he realize that I've already risked my life one too many times than I'd have liked already? I don't need to add the Tri-Wizard Tournament to my death wish list! I have enough on my mind as it is!"  
"Harry, you need to see it from all perspectives. Put yourself in Ron's shoes. Just think about it. He's always living in your shadow. He has always been the best friend, the faithful sidekick, the one you can rely on. Well, don't you think that job can get a little tedious after a while? Don't you think he's the slightest bit restless? And now, you're in the Tournament. How do you think he feels?" Harry closed his eyes and waved absentmindedly.

"Go away, Holly," he mumbled. "Just go away."

"Fred, George, can you do me a favor?"

"What kind of a favor?" Fred and George said together.

"I need you to talk with your brother." They laughed.

"We've already done that!" Fred cried.

"Countless times!" George added.

"It doesn't work," said Fred.

"Not a bit," George agreed.

"Hermione was even there and tried to convince him…" Fred shrugged.

"We don't know what else to say! He doesn't want to make up with Harry," George said.

"Likewise where Harry's concerned," Holly sighed, sadly.

"They'll get over themselves eventually," Fred assured her.

"I just hope they make up before Harry gets killed in one of these tasks…" Holly muttered.

"Oh God, what is this rubbish?!" Holly exclaimed as she looked disgustedly at the front page of the Daily Prophet.  
"I'll tell you what it is. It's Rita Skeeter, that's what it is," Cho replied, fed up with the whole thing.

"This isn't Harry at all! Who does she think she's kidding?" 

"She didn't even mention Cedric's _name_ in here!" Cho cried. Holly sighed.

"Someone needs to sue this woman."

"No kidding."  
"Can you do me a favor, Cho?"

"Anything, Holly." As she said this, Cho scrunched the paper into a small ball and tossed it in the bin.

"Please don't give Harry a hard time about this…" Holly was looking towards the Slytherins, who were in hysterics. "Be nice to him about it." Cho smiled.

"Of course, Holly."

"Cedric? Cedric… Cedric! Slow down!" Holly scrambled after the Hufflepuff as he picked up speed in the hall. "Cedric, I want to talk to you. Cedric, please!" Cedric continued to walk briskly down the hall. "Fine. You don't have to talk to me. It's Harry. I need you to look out for him during the Tournament. That can't do you much harm, can it? Please, he's only a kid." Cedric halted and Holly nearly ran into him. He said nothing, so Holly continued. "He was dragged into this by someone. It wasn't his idea and I just want you to make sure he doesn't get hurt." Cedric took a deep breath and sighed.

"OK," he said, and continued walking. Holly smiled, slightly. He had said two letters to her. It was a start.

"Dragons?" Holly looked at Hermione, in surprise. Hermione nodded. "I have to see this." She and Hermione made their way across the grounds to witness the first task. "How did you know it was dragons?"

"A little bird told me," Hermione said, mysteriously. Holly smiled.

"You have your sources and they can't be revealed. I understand."

As they approached the area, Holly decided she'd go and wish her brother luck. Waving goodbye to Hermione, Holly walked over to the tents where the champions were supposed to be. But she was stopped.  
"Don't go in there, Miss," said Ludo Bagman. Holly's eyes widened.

"You!" she cried. "You're the one that owes money to Fred and George!"  
"Oh dear…" Bagman bit his lip. "Why don't you go and see the champions?" Holly grinned.

"Thank you!" she said, and walked into the tent. Harry looked up at her and smiled. Cedric looked up, smiled weakly, and then looked back down again. Harry looked over at him.

"I think he's just been nervous over the past few days. We've all been nervous…" Harry stopped talking as he noticed someone else enter the tent.  
Cho Chang poked her head in and looked around. She smiled when she saw Cedric. Harry's heart skipped a beat as he heard Holly whisper to the girl.  
"Hey, Cho," she said.

"Hey, Holly," Cho replied with a polite smile. She then turned to Cedric again. "Hello, Cedric." She walked over to the boy and Holly sighed. She turned back to her brother.

"You'll do great in this, Harry. Remember, you're the tortoise!"  
"I'd rather be the hare, at the moment," Harry muttered. "Then I might be able to dodge that dragon quicker…" Holly looked surprised.

"How did you know there were dragons?" Harry stuttered.

"Um, well, I guessed, see, because I heard about— Oh, just forget it, Holly!" Harry threw his hands into the air and added in a harsh whisper, "They all know!" Holly nodded.

"Well, you'll beat them anyway!" she cried. "Dodging danger is your specialty!"

"Right." Harry rolled his eyes. "It seems to me that getting in the way of danger's path is my specialty." Holly laughed, briefly, but her face became serious.

"Do you have a plan, then?"

"You'll see."

"What's that supposed to mean, 'You'll see?!' I want to know that you'll be OK?"  
"I'll be fine, Holly!" Harry reassured her. "Trust me." Holly sighed and nodded.

"OK," she said. "I trust you." As she left, Harry let out the breath he had been holding.

" 'Trust me!' Yeah, how can she trust me when I don't even trust myself?"

Holly didn't like the look of this task. It seemed positively brutal. The twins were enthralled by it. Holly smiled as she heard the name 'Cedric Diggory' ring throughout the field. The Hufflepuff was concentrating hard, and though Holly couldn't see him from that far back, she could have sworn she saw him smiling.

Cedric immediately stunned the dragon, but as he approached the nest to recover the golden egg, the Swedish Short-Snout had shaken off the spell and Cedric retreated. Biting his lip, he noticed a rock and instantly transfigured it into a dog, a Labrador, which barked at the reptile.

"Clever," Holly heard Lee mutter behind her. She nodded, fascinated. She had forgotten how wonderful Cedric appeared when he was smiling. He was so courteous and patient with her. He was sweet and would listen to her constant complaining without saying a word. He'd give her advice on whatever she needed. He was the most tolerant and compassionate person Holly had ever known. And out there with the dragon, he looked so brave and strong and…

"Oh God…" Holly put her hand to her mouth in shock. She stood up. "I can't believe it!"

"Can't believe what?" George asked, uninterested, eyes on Cedric. As people stood up to cheer, Holly whispered the answer to George's question quietly to herself.

"I'm in love with Cedric Diggory!" The greatness of the mistake she had made slowly sunk into Holly's skin and as her eyes began to glisten, she muttered, "It was a mistake. All a mistake!" She blinked away her tears. She finally realized it, and accepted it. She was in love with Cedric Diggory.

As this startling revelation sunk in, Viktor Krum came out. And as he battled with the Chinese Fireball, Holly noticed Hermione whispering something to Ron out of the corner of her eye. Dismissing it, Holly turned her attention back to the task. Viktor eventually retrieved the golden egg, but the dragon had smashed several of its own eggs in pain from the curses Krum had thrown at it.

As Fleur Delacour came out from Beuxbatons to face the Welsh Green, Holly decided to do some unintentional eavesdropping. Noticing briefly Fleur's plan of attack (some kind of sleeping spell), Holly tuned into the conversation between the two fourth years.

"I guess it is kind of dangerous…"

"Kind of dangerous? Ron, are you watching this? Harry could be killed in this match, and you would have never told him how much you missed him!"

"Please don't say that, Hermione. Please don't say that. Please." The strange whimper Holly heard behind the whisper broke her heart. He was on the verge of apologizing, she could tell.

"So are you going to tell him or not?" Ron paused and as he opened his mouth to speak, a roar from the crowd drowned out his response. Fleur had retrieved the egg, her robes partially burned. Holly grinned as Harry came out and marveled, as she once had at his Quidditch games, at his flying skills. But she couldn't get that thought out of her mind…  
"I'm in love with Cedric Diggory…"


	9. The Eavesdropper

Chapter Nine: The Eavesdropper

With a smile, Holly approached the tent where the champions were hiding. Her smile widened as she noticed Ron and Harry talking to each other again without making threatening gestures. She turned her attention once more to the valiant Hufflepuff and the lovely Ravenclaw he was laughing with.

"Hello, Holly!" the Ravenclaw greeted cheerfully.

"Hi, Cho," Holly smiled. She then looked at the Champion.

"Holly…" He smiled weakly at the Gryffindor.

"At least you aren't ignoring my presence anymore," Holly said. "How are you?"

"Well, let me think, I was scorched by a dragon…"  
"OK, I see your point," Holly rolled her eyes. She sighed and looked at her feet, then back at Cedric again. "I was wondering if you'd finally accept my apology. I know nothing I can do would express the remorse and guilt I'm feeling. Cedric, I made a—"

"Say no more, Holly!" Cedric held up his hands and shook his head with a grin. "All if forgiven." Holly did a double take.

"All is… All is forgiven? But… But what about what I did to you?!" Cedric nodded with his eyes closed.

"Yes, yes, yes. You broke my heart, Holly, honestly you did. But it's been mended by an angel!" Holly took on a humorous expression at the young man's burst of drama.

"An angel?" she said with a laugh, but her laugh was cut short as she noticed Cho blush. "You mean… You and… You and Cho?" Cedric nodded slowly.

"She's my angel." Cedric grinned and the red color in Cho's face deepened. "My savior. She saved me when I was in the dark, deep chasms of despair!" Holly couldn't help but giggle, in spite of herself.

"I see she's also the one who's brought about your creative and poetic acting skills, Shakespeare." Cedric smiled and Holly nearly lost all feeling in her heart.

"Hey, do you still have that rose? The one that was once a twig?" Holly frowned.  
"Why?"

"Because I'll take it now. If you'll let me." Holly gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

"Can I talk to you in private for a moment? Sorry, Cho…"

"By all means!"

Holly and Cedric wandered the grounds for a few minutes. When they were nearing the castle, Holly spoke.

"Look, this Tournament is very dangerous, especially for a fourteen-year-old, so I would really appreciate it if you would watch over him for me."  
"For you?" Cedric's eyebrow rose. Holly nodded.

"Yes, for me."

"What do you mean? Is there any particular reason you're so protective over a boy who entered the Chamber of Secrets in his second year? Other than the fact he's your friend, because I know you, Holly. There's more to it then that." Holly bit her lip.

"Come," she said. She led Cedric back inside the castle and would only speak to him when she'd found an empty classroom. She closed the door behind her and spoke in a whisper. 

"I knew you'd see right through me," she said. "You were even wondering why I asked you to make sure he was OK when you were still angry with me." Cedric gave her a faint smile. She continued with a sigh. "Harry's my… Harry's my…"

"Just say it, Holly!" Cedric encouraged her. She sighed again.

"Well, remember that night when James and Lily Potter were killed?" Pausing, Cedric slowly nodded. "Well, it's a little known fact that Lily, James and Harry weren't the only ones there that night. There was another… Child."

"Why does this concern you?" Cedric asked, afraid he already knew the answer.

"I'm not supposed to be telling anyone this. There are only three other people that know in the world. And it's such a big secret and such a large part of me that I…" Holly stopped for a moment to compose herself and continued. "The child, a little girl, supposedly died with her parents that night. Harry's older sister, a toddler who was no more than three years old…"

"Holly, you can't be saying—"

"I'm not finished!" Holly hissed. "The little girl was playing a game with her mother. Hide and Seek. She hid in the garden, in the bushes, and vowed never to come out until her mother found her. Her mother never came looking. A leader fell, followers panicked, and a baby cried. Only then did she come out."

"Holly…"

"Remus Lupin was the one who opened my eyes," Holly continued. "He practically told me. Dumbledore confirmed what he said. Cedric, Harry is the only link I have left. The only member of my original family that's still alive. If he dies, all of who I was back then dies with him. All of who I am today." There was silence as Cedric absorbed the information Holly was giving him.

"Holly, that's impossible…"

"Is it?" she asked. "I'm not so sure. It is true, Cedric. Why on earth would I be telling you this if it wasn't? I'm not one to— OK, so maybe I am one to joke, but not about something like this. What reason do I have to lie to you?" Cedric nodded.

"I believe you, Holly."

"No one can know!" Holly insisted. "If this got out, my life would be in severe danger."

"I'd never do anything to jeopardize your life, Holly. I won't tell a soul." Holly smiled, but her smile disappeared as she saw something on Cedric's shoulder.

"Cedric, you have a bug on your shoulder," she said. "It's an ugly one, too."

"Huh?" But just as Cedric turned his head to look, the beetle took flight. Holly watched it curiously as it dashed out the window. She turned to the door.

"Come on, let's…" Eyes. Two of them. They were peering in on the two friends and seemed to sneer at them. "Son of a…" As she said it, the eyes disappeared and the door slammed. Holly ran to it and threw it open. When she looked up and down the hall, there was no one to be found. Cedric came running out behind her.

"Cedric?" she said to him. "We're in big, _big_ trouble."

She was writing something at the Three Broomsticks when Holly cornered her.

"I know it was you," she said. The woman looked up from her parchment and glared at Holly through large spectacles.  
"I'm sure I do not know what you're talking about, Miss Potter— Phillips!" The woman hastily corrected her mistake, but it was too late. Holly grabbed the reporter by the collar.

"Listen up, you tasteless, badly dressed BLOND!" Holly shouted. "I know you were the one who heard me and Cedric talking and your little slip there just proved it! If you run that article, I'll—"

"You mean, this article?" Rita Skeeter held up the parchment that she was working on, appearing as innocent as she could. Holly glowered at her.

"Give that to me." Her teeth were grinding.

"You'll have plenty of time to read it when it goes in the Daily Prophet tomorrow." Skeeter had a large grin on her face.

"I know what you are."

"Pardon?" The grin from Skeeter's face disappeared instantly.

"I know what you are and I won't rest until all of Britain knows it!" All the color drained from Skeeter's face as she shoved the parchment and quill into Holly's hands.

"OK, OK!" she shrieked. "I won't print the article, as long as you don't tell everyone!" Holly was confused, but didn't show it, afraid she'd show weakness to the enemy.

"Alright…" she said with a wry smile. "Pleasure doing business with you."

Holly walked over to the table where Fred, George and Lee were sitting.

"Skeeter writing up some gossip about you, Holly?" Lee asked.

"Not anymore. I have the feeling I blackmailed her."  
"What did you tell her?" George asked.

"Well, I told her I knew what she was and I was going to let all of Britain know it too…"  
"And she said…" Fred prompted.

"Well, that's the funny part. She said she wouldn't run the article."

"That's peculiar. Why do you think she did that?" George wondered aloud.

"Well, I don't know. She must be one of those people who care about their reputations a lot. She didn't want me spreading rumors about _her_ saying she's a cold blooded, thieving sadistic bitch. It's strange, too, because she didn't even give me the chance to say it to her face. Maybe she just doesn't want to face the truth." Holly shrugged it off. She smiled as she saw Cedric enter.

"Listen, I think I know who overheard us talking the other day…" he whispered to her.

"Yeah, I know, and don't worry. I have it taken care of!" Holly assured him. He seemed confused.

"You do?"  
"Yeah, no problem!"

"OK…" Cedric joyfully joined Holly, Lee and the twins for another round of butterbeers.

****

The Girl Who Lived

There have been many rumors and speculations about what actually happened the night the Potters were attacked, _writes Rita Skeeter, special correspondent._ But tell me, what is the true story behind them? This reporter has it all. An exclusive interview with a girl claiming to be the soul remaining relative in Harry Potter's nuclear family unveils the clouded reality.

Research shows that a young girl is also known to have been killed that night, though the authorities had never found her body. But the question being asked is why did they cover up the entire existence of the poor little three-year-old? Is it because there is a possibility of her present existence? Not even the girl's younger brother, Harry was aware he even once had a sister! But she was aware of it. And somehow, Holly Lillian Phillips knew that she was the missing link.

Born on a Friday, April thirteenth, this girl has luck coursing through her veins. Elise and Jason Phillips adopted her when she was four years old. Records of her birth parents have never been found. But if she is who she claims to be, the long lost member of the Potter family, then where was she for the year in between when her 'parents' were killed, and when her foster parents took her under their wing? This is one reporter who confronted the girl to find the answers.

"I was lost," she claims, "When someone sees their parents die at the tender age of three, he or she is bound to be traumatized. I wandered the streets, scraping for food any way I could get it. I was only a child; I didn't even know the meaning of the word 'orphanage.' So one day I knocked on the door of a kind couple, who took pity on the toddler wandering around without parents. They gave me shelter. They were unable to have children themselves, and so they raised me as one of their own. They've been so good to me."

Do the images of watching her parents die and her brother cry haunt her mind? Are her ghosts coming back to haunt her? And why did she wait so long to reveal her secret?

"I keep thinking that what I saw was just a dream. It was so horrible, I can't even believe someone could do that to another human being. I've been worrying about my brother ever since I was old enough to know what worry was. It was all just one horrible, real nightmare. I couldn't even face the truth until recently."

But is she ever jealous of all the attention her brother receives as 'The Boy Who Lived?'

"Sometimes I wonder why people see him as a hero, and see me as just another face in the crowd. Sometimes I just want to shout out 'I was there too! And I was old enough to remember it!' But other times, I'm grateful I don't have the pressure of fame on my shoulders. But I think it's about time I get my dues. They were my parents too."

And this is one reporter who completely agrees. I write this article today, not to gossip. But to reveal the true story of Holly Lillian Potter, the Girl Who Lived, and the newest hero to the Potter name.

"HA!" Holly laughed out loud as she crumpled the parchment in the palm of her hand.

"What are you laughing at?" Cedric asked as he walked in on her in the library.  
"The article Skeeter wrote about me!" Holly said, chuckling.

"Skeeter wrote an article about you?"

"What's the matter, Cedric? You seem surprised." Indeed he did. He seemed absolutely shocked. "I thought you knew she was the one who overheard us that day."

"I did— I mean, I thought I knew someone who overheard us, but he denied it. I guess he was telling the truth then…"

"Look at this!" Holly tossed him the crumpled up article. Cedric unfolded it, straightened it out and read it. By the end, he was chuckling.

"She makes you sound like a bragging bitch who wants the limelight."

"You think?" Holly yanked the paper out of Cedric's hands and tore it in two. She then tore it into smaller pieces and set fire to them with her wand. "We don't want _that_ getting out now, do we?"


	10. Nightmare Before Christmas

Chapter Ten: Nightmare Before Christmas

The Christmas spirit seemed to have crept up on the students of Hogwarts as they were sleeping one night because when they woke up one morning, it seemed to have changed from autumn to winter in one fell swoop. Snow was on the ground and the announcement of a Yule Ball was made. It became the main topic of every conversation.

"Are you going with anyone, Holly?" Cedric asked her one day. Holly was grumpy and fed up with the whole thing.  
"NO!" she shouted. "NO! I am NOT going with ANYONE because I don't know ONE person that I COULD go with, thank you VERY much!"

"It was just a question, there's no need to get defensive!" Cedric couldn't help but smile at Holly's attitude towards the whole Yule Ball thing.

"Besides," she said. "I have other things I have to do."

"Harry's going to the ball, you know. He has to."

"Poor little brother of mine," Holly grumbled. "He'll probably have just as much trouble finding a date as I am. But even worse, he _needs_ to have one or else he'll be a laughingstock!"

"It won't be that bad," Cedric put his arm around his friend's shoulder. "You'll both find someone, I know it."

"Right!" Holly laughed. "And who am I going to go with, Lee Jordan?"

"Holly, I—"

"Don't talk to me, Lee." Holly sat at a chair with her arms folded. Her lovely green dress robes were a large contrast to the horrible expression on her face. Lee grinned.

"You aren't enjoying this, are you?" he asked her.

"No, I'm not enjoying this! I could be here with someone I really care for—No, I don't mean to say I don't care about you, Lee, I mean—"

"You could be here with Cedric." Holly stared at him, dumbstruck. She quickly composed herself.

"Why do you think I meant that, Lee Jordan?" she asked as innocently as possible. Lee chortled.

"Oh please!" he cried, throwing back his head with laughter. "The twins may be blind but I'm not! It's dead obvious that you fancy him!"

"What are you talking about?" Holly forced a laugh herself. "Cedric and I are just friends!"

"Yeah, but you could have been more if you'd just admitted to yourself how you felt about him that time he kissed you in the hall."  
"WHAT!?" Holly rose to her feet, positively shocked. Lee Jordan merely smiled, knowingly. "How on earth did you know I kissed him in the hall? No one knows that, Cedric didn't say a word about it, not even to his friends! How did you…"

"I was looking for you that day," said Lee. "I wanted to see if we could talk like friends again, if we could put the past behind us. But then I noticed you were busy talking to Cedric. I was about to walk away when I head him yell at you to give something back to him. I turned and he had you against the wall."

"Oh God…" Holly muttered. "You were _watching_ us?"

"Not watching, I prefer to call it spying. And I saw you being an idiot, that's what I saw. Nothing more." Holly gave him a wan smile.

"Yeah…" she sighed. "You're right. I realized what a stupid mistake it was. But when I went to tell him that, he'd already found another angel."

"Speak of the devil…" Lee muttered and Holly followed his gaze to see Cedric and Cho walking over to them.

"I told you this would be fun!" Cedric exclaimed. Holly forced a believable smile.  
"You're right! We're having a blast, aren't we, Lee?"

"Great time." Lee nodded without enthusiasm. 

"Have you seen Harry?" asked Cho. "I've barely seen him all night." Holly jumped to her feet.

"What?" Cedric put his hands on her shoulders.

"Relax! You are way too jumpy. He is allowed to be out of your sight every now and then. I saw him. He's out in the garden, I think."

"You think?"  
"You worry too much, Holly!" Cedric eased the girl back into her chair. Holly agreed.

"You're right, I do. I need a vacation."

"Hello!" It was Hermione Granger.

"Good evening, Hermione! This night just keeps getting better!" If anyone detected the note of sarcasm in Holly's voice, they didn't show it.

"Hello, Hermione," Lee said, politely. "I trust you know Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang?" Hermione nodded.

"We've never been formally introduced like that, however," she said. "Viktor's dancing with one of his admirers. Have you seen Ron?" Cedric shook his head.

"Saw his sister, though, dancing with someone from your year…" Hermione smiled.

"Neville," she said.

"Neville and Ginny, how sweet!" Holly's sarcasm went unnoticed.

"He might be out with Harry, though," Cho said. "They're best friends, aren't they?" Hermione nodded.  
"Oh look, here comes Fred and Angelina!" Holly threw her hands into the air. "Let's all have a party with all the happy couples! I _hate_ happy couples!" But Holly's rude comment was ignored as they continued talking.

"Hello, Fred!" Cedric greeted, cheerily, "Angelina, you're looking well this evening!"

"So formal, knock it off, Diggory!" Fred rolled his eyes. "We are your friends, you know."  
"Hello, Fred."

"Hello, Hermione. Where is Vik-y-tor?" Fred stretched out his name. Hermione scowled.  
"VIK-tor!" she hissed.

"Ever so sorry, Her-my-o-ninny!" Lee and Fred snickered as Hermione continued to scowl.

"Ah, here he is!" cried Angelina.

"Her-my-o-ninny!" Krum greeted. "Von't you introduce me to your friends?"

"Of course! Viktor, you know Cedric, and this is his date, Cho Chang, and that's Fred Weasley there, and joining him is Angelina Johnson. Slumped in the chair not saying a word is Holly Phillips accompanied by Lee Jordan." Holly grunted in greeting.

"Hi! That was a spectacular catch at the Quidditch World Cup!" Lee exclaimed, shaking the man's hand.

"Yeah," Fred added. "You won me and my brother quite a bit of money. Pity Bagman has to be a cheat…"

"Thank you…" Krum said as Lee continued to shake his hand. He then turned to his date. "Vould you like to dance, Her-my-o-ninny?" Holly couldn't help feeling he wanted to get as far away from Hermione's friends as possible, especially Lee.

"I'd love to, Viktor!" Krum took Hermione's hand and led her out onto the dance floor. Angelina looked at Fred expectantly. He stood there a while, pretending he didn't notice. He then started whistling. Finally, Angelina couldn't stand it anymore.

"DANCE!"

"Huh? Oh, right, I should be a good date, shouldn't I? Bye guys!" Fred grinned as he led the young lady away.

"I'd like to dance, Cedric," Cho hinted.

"In a minute, sweetheart, I need to talk to Holly. Will you walk with me?" Cedric offered his hand and Holly reluctantly took it. Cho frowned and Lee grinned and offered to take her dancing himself. She accepted. Cedric led Holly out into the garden.

"Where's George? I haven't seen him all night."  
"Ill," Holly replied. "Be down in a bit, he says."

"Date?"

"Who, me or him?" Holly asked. Cedric frowned.  
"I thought you had a date, Holly?"

"You mean you enjoy going to dances with one of your best friends?"

"Sorry…" he muttered.

"You didn't come here to ask about George or my date, did you?"

"It's about Harry. Are you sure what you told me is true?"

"Positive."

"Did it ever occur to you to get some sort of test, like DNA or something?" Cedric shrugged.  
"Look, Cedric!" Holly stopped walking. "It's true! Dead true, OK! Why?" Cedric sighed.  
"So you're positive that you're blood related to Harry Potter. His sister?" Holly nodded vigorously. "Because there's something I found out. Something I extracted from Malfoy about—"

"Cedric, Holly, what are you doing out here?" Holly jumped at the sound of a Weasley's voice. Ron had a mischievous grin on his face as he and Harry stood behind the two of them.

"How much did you hear?" she demanded.  
"Relax, we just got here!" Harry cried. "All I heard was something about Malfoy. Say, don't you two have other dates?"  
"We're just friends, you two!" Cedric hissed as powerfully as Holly might have done herself two months ago. Holly felt the blood rising in her cheeks, but no one else seemed to notice.

"Scat!" Holly ordered. "We were having a _private_ conversation!"

"Oh we seem to be hearing plenty of those late—" Harry elbowed Ron in the ribs, forcing him to admit an 'Oof' noise.

"Shut up, Ron," Harry muttered.  
"Right then, away we go!" Ron and Harry walked out of sight.

"You were saying?" Holly turned back to Cedric, but he was looking around, nervously.

"Not hear, not now. There are too many people who could be listening. Let's go back inside, I owe Cho a dance."

"Cedric!" Holly cried at the Hufflepuff's retreating back. He had caught her curiosity. "At least tell me what it's about." Cedric stopped and didn't move. Holly tried to figure out what he was thinking to no avail. Finally, he turned, his expression grave. The wind rustled his dress robes and gave Holly an eerie feeling.

"What once was lost is now found, what was forgotten is remembered, the Child will arise from the ashes of its parents and become the downfall of the Dark Lord Voldemort."

Cedric's words echoed in Holly's head and made her toss and turn and fall into restless slumber.

"Master… Master!"

"What is it now, you pathetic rat!"  
"We have received, er, interesting news from one of our sources at the school."

"Indeed. And what, pray tell, is this interesting news? Has it anything to do with my plans?"

"Well, er, not really, Master, not directly at least. But it might cause a, er, c-complication?"  
"Quit stuttering, you worthless Wormtail and spit it out!"

"Well, Master, there's… a girl."

"A… girl? And this is important because…"  
"She's, well, she's… there was another there that night, Master. Ministry records back up the birth of a Holly Lillian Potter and I seem to recall Lily's first child being a girl, but—"  
"You neglected to tell me there was another? A… A _sister_, a _daughter_?"

"I… I forgot, Master, please…"

"Forgot? _You forgot?!_ How can you forget the birth of your best friend's daughter!"

"Well, after that night, everyone assumed her to be dead and she wasn't that exceptional a child. You were looking for Harry, Master. You were looking for a boy!"

"_I was looking for a child!_ I was looking for _the_ Child! Oh you babbling idiot!"

There was a scream of pain.

Holly awoke in a cold sweat.

When Holly entered the common room at four in the morning, she saw Harry there too with a blanket wrapped around him sitting by the fire. He heard someone coming and snapped his head around instantly, drawing out his wand.

"Relax," Holly said. "It's me."  
"You…"

"Why are you down here?" she asked.

"Had a very bad dream," Harry replied under his breath, rubbing his forehead.

"Yeah, me too."

"What was yours about?" Harry inquired.

"You don't want to know. You?"

"I can't remember," he admitted. "I know it had something to do with you, though. You and me and… and Voldemort." Holly cringed.

"I hate that word," she admitted.

"Yeah, so do a lot of people," Harry replied. There was a brief period of silence. Finally, Harry spoke. "Holly?" he said in a timid whisper.

"Yeah?" Holly said, joining him on the couch. Harry pulled the blanket tighter around him.

"This'll sound stupid and childish."  
"Yeah?" Finally, Harry looked up at the red-haired sixth year girl and saw an understanding in her warm brown eyes.

"I'm scared," he said. The words tore Holly's heart in two.

"Come here," she said and put her arm around him, the way an older sister would. They sat there for a while, saying so many things without a word. Holly's arm lay securely around the fourteen-year-old's shoulders for the rest of the night.

Sometimes actions speak louder than words.


	11. Bits and Pieces

Chapter Eleven: Bits and Pieces…

"The Second Task does not begin until February. So your minds should be in the classroom and not in the clouds… Yes, Maria?"

"What is the second task?" Half of the class laughed as Professor McGonagall scowled at the question. Holly, however, was barely listening, doodling on her parchment usually pictures of Cedric or of red, snake-like eyes…

"You know very well that I cannot release that information, Miss Gonzales."

"OK, then what is the third task?" Maria pressed. The rest of the class laughed. The color was rising in McGonagall's face.

"I am afraid that is confidential as well, Miss Gonzales. Do you have any further questions?"

"Yes, I—"

"About _Transfiguration_?!" McGonagall interrupted. Maria fell silent. But another hand rose.

"Yes, Megan?" McGonagall called.

"Are we going to learn how to transfigure a twig into a white rose?" Holly's head snapped up and looked around the room for where Megan was. When she found her, she noticed Megan was smiling in Holly's direction. Holly scowled back at her.

"That is a simple technique," McGonagall said with a slight smile. "It was pointed out to me by a Hufflepuff, actually, who had figured out how to do it on his own. A smart lad. Yes, I suppose I could show you, but next class. Today, we are going to do something different…" Holly tuned out again and went back to her doodling.

"What are you doing?" Holly asked with a laugh as Harry kicked a rock into the lake.

"Trying to figure out this blasted egg!" he growled back, throwing the thing at her feet.

"Hm…" Holly said, picking it up and examining it.

"Don't—" Harry started, but Holly opened the egg. An ear-piercing scream cut through the air and Holly immediately closed it.

"Well!" she declared. "I have no idea!"

"Good," Harry mumbled. "Because I'm not suppose to receive any help from anyone!"

"Shouldn't you have figured it out by now?" Holly asked. "It's been ages!"

"You know Ron and I," Harry muttered. "It's called procrastination, Holly." The girl smiled.

"You'll figure it out, I bet," she said.

"Yeah, when it's too late," Harry whispered.

"So, that egg…" Holly said to Cedric casually. "Have you, you know, like, figured it out yet?" He grinned and gave her a mocking look of accusation.

"Are you trying to extract some illegal information out of me, Holly?" said he.

"Oh no!" Holly sounded appalled at the idea, but Cedric could tell by the look on her face that she, too, was being sarcastic. "It's just, Harry and I were wondering if you'd figured it out. Because, you know, he's known the answer _ages_ ago!" Cedric laughed.

"Still doesn't understand it?" Holly sighed, sadly.

"No."

"I can understand. It's a hard puzzle to figure out. I only came about the answer by accident."

"Oh, so you _have_ figured it out?" Holly grinned. Cedric gave her a reproachful look.

"You know I can't tell him, Holly. Friend of yours or no, he's my opponent. Then again…" Cedric trailed off and Holly noticed the thoughtful look on his face.

"Then again what?" Holly was suspicious. What was he up to?

"I gotta go, Holly," Cedric said, sprinting down the hall. "I'll see you later!"

"Um… OK! Bye!"

"Spew? What's spew?" Holly could barely keep from laughing.

"I have no idea!" Ron cried. "Some stupid thing Hermione's been doing for months now and she won't give it up!"

"Humor her, Ron," Holly urged. "It'll make her happy."

"I s'pose," Ron mumbled. "But only if you join the damn thing too!" Holly laughed.

"OK," she said. "Where's Hermione?"

Soon, Holly found she had to defend herself from snide remarks. And she felt herself becoming very passionate about it.

"It's not _spew,_ it's S.P.E.W!" she hissed, reminding herself of Hermione. "And if you criticize me one more time for helping out a friend, I swear I will blast you with a fever curse!" That threat managed to keep a lot of people away. It was a rumor that as an apology for casting it on her, Moody had taught Holly the curse to help her defend herself. Though Moody and Holly knew this wasn't true, neither of them denied it.

As the other students took their seats, Holly winked at Moody who smiled in return.

"Thanks," she whispered.

"Holly, you great big prat!" Fred hissed. "What on earth do you think you're doing?!" Holly didn't reply to Fred's urgent whisper. She merely sat up, tall and proud, with a large grin on her face.

"Holly, do you know what you're doing?" George demanded. "You're committing social suicide!"

"I don't care!" Holly replied, keeping her proud stance in her seat.

"You should care," Lee said. "Do you know what'll happen to us for just sitting with you??"

"Then don't sit with me then, if you're so afraid!" Holly said without looking at him. Lee and the twins exchanged worried looks. A few Slytherins stumbled into the dungeon, laughing. One of them, a blond girl with sharp features and gray eyes, stared at Holly with a smile.

"Well, well, well," she said. "Would you look at you? All dressed up like a Christmas tree!"

"Go to hell, Saunders," Holly said with a confident smile. Clara Saunders just burst out laughing.

"What are you going to do, hm Phillips?"

"Tear you to shreds, that's what she'll do!" Lee shouted, standing up for his friend. Holly's smile deepened. Lee was standing up for her, even when she was decorated from head to toe in flags and pins saying 'Support S.P.E.W.'

"You never bothered us before, Clara," Fred mumbled under his breath, hiding his eyes from Holly and the blond. "Why now?"

"I'll tell you why, Weasley," said the Slytherin. "Because your little friend looks like an idiot."

"Well maybe I want to look like an idiot, did that ever occur to your small little blond-sized brain?" said Holly, casually. Clara scowled.

"I will not stand idly by and be called a blond!" she hissed. One of her companions leaned in close to her and whispered something in her ear. A surprised expression came on her face, but instantly was disguised with one of pure malice.

"I know very well what my hair color is, Beans!" she hissed at the young man. "Thank you _very _much for informing me!" The Gryffindors chuckled but their laughter was cut short as the Potions Master swung open the door and quickly walked into the room.

"Everyone take your seats," he said flatly. "And Phillips, take off that horrible display. You won't help any House Elves looking like a train that crashed into a Christmas tree." Holly sheepishly took off her pins and flags. She found it funny that where no one else could make her feel stupid or embarrassed, Professor Snape always seemed to succeed.

"I would like to thank you, Holly!" Hermione cried as she caught up with the sixth year in the hall.

"Thank me?" Holly sounded surprised. "For what?"

"I heard about that incident in Potions. You really know how to show them, don't you? I'm proud of you, Holly, you stood up to everyone for a good cause!"

"Well, Hermione, I have to be truthful with you about that," Holly said, quietly. Hermione looked confused.

"What?"

"I… Well, I don't really believe in all this elf welfare and stuff— I mean, I understand why you're doing it, and I know your intentions are good, but do they really _want_ your help?" Hermione straightened up and the smile on her face disappeared."

"In the Middle Ages, Holly," she began. "Peasants would work on the same manor for their whole lives in exchange for room and board. Their children would work on that same manor, as would their children, as would their children. Their conditions were terrible, but they were happy because they didn't know any better. They had no where else to go. The streets were full of thieves, everyone knew that, and they believed they wouldn't last one second outside the manor walls. When the explorers began discovering new and better things, the people heard of them and grew restless. That's all I am trying to do, give house elves the taste of new and better things."

Holly paused, waiting to see if that was the end of Hermione's speech. Finally, she spoke.

"Yes, well, Hermione, that's all well and good, but do they really _want_ new and better things? I mean, do you really want to start an elf revolution? Not that many people would notice anyway, but a war is a war!" Hermione scowled.  
"Well if you don't believe in it, then why were you sporting my pins?"

"And flags. I made flags too, see?" Holly grinned as she showed her a flag that said in blinking neon letters 'Support S.P.E.W!' Hermione smiled a weak, confused smile.

"Well… _Why_ did you make flags and embarrass yourself in your classes?"

"I found it barbaric that people made fun of someone just because of their opinions and beliefs. So I took a stand. I know you really believe in this Hermione, and I know you're a good person who's just trying to help and I couldn't stand all those whispers behind your back. So I took a stand, kind of like a protest. And no one could make me stand down. Except for Snape. That man scares the hell out of me." Hermione gave Holly an appreciative and slightly bashful smile.

"Thank you, Holly," she said. "That's very… kind of you."

"Any time, Hermione, any time."

"The second task is in a couple days, Harry," Holly said excitedly as she met him in the common room one morning. Harry groaned.

"Don't remind me," he said.

"Don't tell me you _still_ haven't figured out that egg!" Holly laughed.

"No, I figured it out, I just dunno what I'm going to do!" Holly nodded.

"You'll know what to do sooner or later. You're smart."

"Yeah," Harry muttered. "Whatever you say."


	12. The Second Task

__

A/N: Look, I know I haven't updated in ages, but I DO have a reason! I have finished this fic, so don't think it isn't finished, my lack in updating is for the following reasons:

# One: I'm lazy.

# Two: It was really hard to connect to my Internet the past few days… weeks…

# Three: I'm lazy.

OK? OK. Enjoy this chapter. Since I've not been updating, a new chapter will be up tomorrow, pronto. 

Chapter Twelve: The Second Task

"Where the hell is Harry?" Holly demanded.

"Late, obviously," said George.

"Has something happened to him?" She seemed frantic.

"Relax, Holly, I'm sure he's fine." George tried to comfort her.

"Or maybe someone poisoned his drink last night to sabotage him!"

"Fred!" Lee and Holly snapped.

"Hey, just kidding, can't you take a joke? Gosh, you're a tough crowd!" Fred turned to the lake and said nothing more.

"Where are Ron and Hermione?" Lee asked. "I haven't seen them all morning."

"Didn't you know?" said George. "They're both hostages for this task."

"Hostages!" Fred cried, turning to his twin in mock horror. "Our little brother's a hostage! Who's taken him, because I swear I'll rip off his arm and make him eat it!" Lee laughed.

"Yeah, you do that, Fred," he said.

"I'd like to do that to Bagman," George muttered.

"Wait, I'm still stuck on the Ron and Hermione hostage thing. What's up with that?" said Holly.

"Well, each champion has to rescue something they'd miss desperately," George replied. "Harry had to rescue Ron, Cedric has to rescue Cho Chang, and—"

"But what about Hermione?" Holly demanded, but Cho Chang's name rang in her mind. She was hurt that Cho seemed to mean more to him than Holly did... "Why is she a hostage?" she said, indicating Hermione, though still thinking of Cho.

"I was getting to that!" George snapped. "She's Viktor Krum's hostage."

"And what about that French one?" Fred asked. "That The Liquor person."

"You mean Delacoure?" Lee said.

"Yeah, The Liquor."

"Fred, repeat after me," Lee said slowly. "De…"

"The…"

"La…"

"Li…"

"Coure…"

"Quor."

"Delacoure."

"The Liquor." George and Holly laughed.

"I dunno about her," said George. "I think it's her sister, though."

"She's part Veela, you know," Lee said excitedly.

"That's fascinating, Lee," Holly rolled her eyes.

"Isn't it though?" Lee grinned stupidly.

"Look, they're starting!" George cried.

"But where's Harry?" Holly shrieked. As if on cue, Harry came running from the castle, throwing on his robes as he ran.

"There," said Fred, pointing out the obvious. He seemed extremely flustered as he approached the lake. As Bagman gave the word, the champions continued into the lake.

"He hasn't finished his breakfast," said Lee as he noticed him chewing something.

"It looks like he's going to throw it up first…" George had a slightly disgusted look upon his face. Harry's expression looked as if he'd just eaten something horrid. All the other champions had started into the lake and Harry looked a bit odd just walking in there without magic or at least shedding his robes. Everyone started laughing and Holly could distinctly hear the voice of Draco Malfoy, a young Slytherin, mocking him loudly. But Harry dove into a lake and didn't resurface. Holly was having a fit and she jumped to her feet.

"Where is he?!" she demanded. "Is his foot caught in an underwater plant and he can't rise to the sweet air? Have the grindylows attacked him and rendered him unconscious? Has he drowned?"

"Ease up there, Holly," said George, his hands on Holly's shoulders easing her back into her seat. Holly caught the eye of Albus Dumbledore, who looked at her in such a way to assure her that Harry was fine. She nodded and swallowed hard to calm herself down. When she looked at Dumbledore again, his eyes seemed to warn her and she could almost hear his voice as clearly in her head as if he'd spoken the words straight into her ear.

__

Don't draw too much attention to yourself.

Holly suddenly felt the pang of guilt pierce her heart. For the first time, she realized she had betrayed Dumbledore's trust. Ludo Bagman's tumultuous voice was suddenly obsolete and Holly wondered if she had gone deaf. The only things she heard in her head were the warnings of Remus and Dumbledore.

"I want to make sure that you don't tell anyone anything about who you really are and who your parents were…" Remus had written in his letter, and Holly remembered it as if he had spoken the words himself.

"Don't breathe a word of this to anyone," Dumbledore had once told her in her fifth year. And he had thanked her for not telling anyone and asked her to keep it that way.

"I appreciate that you haven't said anything…" He had said to her after the welcome feast. And she realized that despite all their warnings, all their threats of repercussions, she had gone behind their back and told someone. She had gone and told Cedric. But she _trusted_ Cedric! He wouldn't tell anyone! He hadn't so far. And yet, it was amazing what one could do under pressure.

The horrible memories of a faintly forgotten dream came flooding back to Holly in a wave of terror. It was Voldemort, and he had known about her and her relationship to Harry. Her _true_ relationship to Harry. _But how did he know?_ And what was that thing Cedric had said to her at the Yule Ball?

Holly felt the familiar sense of terror send shivers up her spine.

"I'll find you, Holly…" she could hear his cold voice hissing her name on the icy winds of premonition. "Holly…"

"Holly!" Holly opened her eyes to Fred Weasley, who seemed genuinely concerned, a rarity in either of the Weasley twins. He was joined instantly by his brother and Lee Jordan.

"Huh?" Holly blinked. "Wha… Wha… Why am I on the floor?" She was suddenly startled to find herself on the floor of the stands.

"Holly, the champions are coming back! Are you OK?"

"What do you mean, Fred?" Holly asked, confused and holding her head. The twins exchanged worried looks, then looked back at Holly.

"You never confused us before, Holly," said the one she thought had been Fred. "Not even when we first met. It was amazing, not even our usual jokes about it worked on you."

"Sorry, I meant to say George, I swear," she mumbled.

"Uh huh…" said the real Fred sounding doubtful. "Maybe we should take you to the hospital wing."

"No, no, that's not necessary. I'm fine, really. What happened?"

"The champions had just gone under. Well, all except for the Fleur Delacour. She was terrified of the grindylows. Kind of reminded me of you, actually…"

"Stick to the subject, Lee," George scowled in a serious manner that was very unlike him. Holly was very confused. Had she woken up in the Twilight Zone where the twins were serious and Lee was the one more likely to digress and joke?

"Sorry," Lee murmured.

"Well, you freaked out about Harry drowning. You seemed to relax, but then you just slid out of your seat onto the floor," said Fred.

"Oh God…" Holly mumbled, closing her eyes in embarrassment.

"Don't worry," said Lee with a slight smile. "You were very discrete. Didn't make any noise either until you hit the ground."

"To tell you the truth, we didn't even know you were gone until we heard that thump," Fred shrugged. Holly laughed.

"How typical. I bet you leaned over to my empty seat without even looking to see if anyone was there and said 'Hey Holly, what was that noise?'"

"Actually," said George. "That's almost exactly what he did. But he cut himself off with a loud and curt 'AH!'" Holly laughed even harder.

"So what's going on with the champions?" When she asked this, every one of her friends hesitated. "What's wrong? We didn't get a lot of points?"

"Harry hasn't come up yet," Lee blurted out with looks of warning from the twins.

"What?!" Holly shrieked and she jumped to her feet, forgetting the faintness she was feeling. She scoured the lake for any sign of her brother. She saw Cedric with a blanket around him, and Cho, and there was Krum and Hermione, Fleur Delacour was there, but her hostage wasn't… _Where was he?_

"What's going to happen to Fleur's hostage?" Holly asked, trying to keep her mind off worrying for her brother. She tried to convince herself it was needless anyway. He'd surface soon…

"Oh, she'll die a horrible death under that water! She'll run out of oxygen and her lips will turn blue and her eyes will bulge and—"

"Fred!" Holly snapped, shivering at the thought. "You know how much I hate water. What's really going to happen to her?"

"Fred's just being dramatic, Holly," Lee reassured. "You know they'd never let an innocent person die."

"Will they let my bro— Will they let Harry die?" Holly demanded, catching herself just in time. The three of them shrugged, simultaneously and the color drained from Holly's face. The three burst out laughing and the color returned instantly and flushed Holly's cheeks with red.

"I should have known!" she screamed, almost loud enough for everyone to hear. "You can never be serious about anything!"

"Relax, Holly!" said George. "It's a joke, Harry's fine."

"How many times have people told me to relax this year?" Holly asked them, having to chuckle, despite herself.

"At least fifty," said Lee with a grin.

After a few more minutes, Harry surfaced, much to Holly's relief. He was carrying two people, both Ron and a girl Holly didn't recognize. She vaulted over the barrier between the stands and the earth and started over towards Harry.

"Harry!" she shrieked before she reached him. "Don't _do_ that!" But he didn't seem to notice her, despite her loud scream. He was too busy being laughed at and lectured by Ron and Hermione. The final scores were announced and let everyone know that Harry and Cedric were tied.  
Harry was busy talking to Ron when he was cut off and he emitted a muffled scream as Ron burst out laughing. Holly lessened her bear hug on Harry and looked him in the eye.

"Don't you _ever_ do something like that again!"

"You sound like my Mum!" Ron said through his laughter.

"Why were you so worried, Holly?"

"It's just, well…" Holly squirmed. Finally, she sighed. "I've said it before and I'll say it again. You're like a brother to me, Harry. The only one I've ever had and I don't want to lose you." Harry looked puzzled, and yet comprehending at the same time.

"Well, I don't want to lose you either, Holly," he said, awkwardly. Holly looked deep into those emerald eyes and saw an understanding deep within them. He remembered the dream too, however vaguely, and he knew that she meant those words literally. Unconsciously maybe, but he knew.

Late on a Sunday morning, she traveled down to the Great Hall for breakfast and noticed Hermione reading the Daily Prophet.

"She hasn't said anything more about Harry, has she?" Holly asked. Hermione shook her head.

"No clue," she said, "I'm not looking for her articles. I'm reading the one about the escaped convict." Holly frowned.

"Escaped convict? Can I see that?" Hermione handed the paper Holly.

" 'Gareth Larkin, found guilty of manslaughter five years ago has recently escaped from Azkaban, the second successful escape in two years, the first being the infamous Sirius Black (If you have seen him, please owl the local authorities). Some people believe that the dementors may have aided in this escape'— Oh isn't that terrible?— 'and are looking into the theory as you read this…" Hermione nodded.

"It goes on to say what he looks like and what to do if you see him and things," Hermione said, taking the paper. Holly was frowning. Gareth Larkin… Why did that name sound so familiar? She suddenly thought of her mother and how she had lied about her father to Holly. Her frown deepening, she decided she'd see what she was up to.

"MUM!!" Holly's voice rang through the Phillips residence like a bell. Elise Phillips started.

"Oh!" she yelped as she jumped up and pulled on her robe. When she appeared in the living room, she noticed Holly frowned. She smiled. "Hello, dear."

"Mother…" Holly muttered, looking her up and down, "What are you doing in a robe at 10:30? You're usually up and about by eight!"

"Oh nothing dear…" her mother said hastily. Holly's eyes widened with disgust as an idea dawned in her head.

"Oh mother!" she cried. "You… you _didn't!_"

"Didn't do what dear?" said her mum.

"You have a boyfriend over there, don't you, Mum?" Holly accused. Elise smiled sheepishly and Holly shook her head to clear it. "But I don't want to talk about that. How are you?"

"Good, and you?"

"As good as I'll get."

"How did Cedric do in the task?"

"Wonderfully, as usual, Mum. Just like his father." Elise laughed.

"Oh honey, his father's anything but perfect!" she cried. "He only pretends to be." Holly grinned.

"Mum…" she said, carefully. "About Dad… Who pushed him down the stairs?" Her mother thought for a moment.

"Larkin," she said. "A Gareth Larkin. Why?" Holly's face was terrified.

"Have… Have you read the Prophet today, Mum?" Her mother frowned.

"Why, honey? Is something wrong?"

"Read the paper," Holly urged. "I have to go."


	13. On the Trail of Sirius Black

__

A/N: Um… I have nothing to say. Enjoy!

Chapter Thirteen: On The Trail of Sirius Black

Holly couldn't concentrate for the rest of that day. All she could think about was the convict and how he'd escaped! She didn't speak for the rest of the day. The very thought of dementors helping him to escape sent shivers up her spine.

"He killed your father?" Cedric sounded surprised. Holly nodded as they continued to make their way to the Great Hall for dinner the next day.

"Pushed him down the stairs," Holly confirmed, her face inscrutable. "But they say it was an accident. He was still convicted, though. A murder is a murder…" Cedric nodded as he listened. When they entered the Hall, Holly noticed Harry was trying to keep a low profile while Hermione was smiling proudly. Frowning, she approached the table, muttering a quick 'goodbye' to Cedric who made his way over to the Hufflepuffs.

"Did something…" but she trailed off as Harry angrily shoved the Daily Prophet in her face. Holly scanned over the article and stifled a laugh. She instantly forced herself to realize the graveness of the situation.

"Oh, Harry, Hermione, I'm sorry!" she said, sincerely. "I don't believe it. I'll never believe a word _she_ writes!"

"Nor will I," said Hermione, her smile fading. "But how did she _know?!"_ she blurted. "About Viktor inviting me to visit him this summer? We were by the lake and she can't…" Hermione shook her head in frustration.

"Relax," Holly said, soothingly. "Both of you. Gossip is like… Like a trend. People might revel in it for a few days… But it'll die down. Soon, they'll get bored of it, then they won't care, then they won't remember. So don't worry about it." Hermione seemed slightly offended as she sat up very proudly.

"_I'm_ not worried!" she informed Holly. "It's _them!_ They listen to everything everyone says as if it were said by some holy priests! No matter how many times I tell them, they still care what other people think of them." Holly smiled.

"That's because they're more insecure than you are," she said, grinning at the boys who scowled right back at her. "Guys are very sensitive… They just don't like to show it. It's some macho-thing…" Holly shrugged and she and Hermione shared a laugh.

"Yeah," Hermione said, grinning as well now. "You're right. I'll remember that…" she shot Ron a deliberate look.

"WHAT?!" Ron shouted, defensively. Harry, Holly, and Hermione burst out laughing.

"Listen, Holly, we have to go," said Harry. "Sorry."

"No, it's fine!" Holly said. "You do whatever it is you two do… Preparing for the Third Task now?"

"How can I?" Harry chortled. "I've only just finished the second! I don't even know what the third one _is_ yet!" Holly nodded.

"OK then," she said. "I'll see you later." They nodded and stood up. Holly saw something flutter to the floor from Harry's pocket. Curious, she picked it up and read over it. It seemed to be a short letter with no signature…

"Be at stile at end of road out of Hogsmeade…" she read. "(Past Durvish and Bangs) at two o'clock on Saturday afternoon. Bring as much food as you can…?" Holly was confused. Who sent this? Did Harry know who'd sent it? Was he walking into a trap?

Holly panicked. What was she going to do? Should she go to Dumbledore? She was supposed to be watching out for him, a silent guardian watching over him… whether he knew it or not. Holly suddenly knew what she had to do.

"I suppose I should follow him," she mumbled. "And make sure he doesn't get into any trouble…"

"Why are we doing this again?" asked the seventeen-year-old as the younger student led him after the three third years.

"Because you know that I am responsible for that boy. Whatever happens to him is going to be because I wasn't looking out for him," Holly replied.

"But-but-but he's my _opponent!"_ Cedric cried. Holly looked at him, disdainfully.

"I can't believe you!" Holly hissed as they quietly followed her brother and his friends.

"It's your duty just as much as mine to look after that kid! You promised me, remember? You _promised_ me!" Cedric nodded.

"I remember…" he said quietly, looking at his feet. "I told you I'd look after him when you couldn't, when he was doing the tasks."

"I'm glad you remember," Holly said, tonelessly. "Now come on. They're heading to the edge of the village now. I have to know what he's up to…"

As the three approached the mountain, their pursuers watched them from the shadows. Holly nearly gasped aloud at what she saw.

"Sirius…" she muttered as she saw the big black dog with the newspaper in his mouth.

"That's who they were going to meet…"

"What?!" Cedric exclaimed, loudly enough to make the three students and the dog hesitate and turn around.

"SH!" Holly hushed him hastily. "They'll hear us! Come on, we have to go. Nothing will happen while that, er, dog is with them. Hurry, before they find us!" and with that, they turned tail and ran.

Safely back in the crowded Hogsmeade, Cedric turned to Holly.

"Who did you say they were with?"

"No one," she said, offhandedly.

"Because you said Siri—"

"I was going to say Seriously, but trailed off… I couldn't believe my eyes."

"Why not?" Cedric asked.

"Because I know that dog. He was a close friend to our parents. He's a very smart dog… He's lived for ages, too," she added. Cedric seemed satisfied with this answer and Holly silently sighed with relief. Her lousy improvisation had worked. She had told Cedric everything about her that he needed to know, but she knew that if he didn't already think she was crazy, he would after she told him the truth about Sirius Black.

The days went on and on lazily. Holly leaned against the wall outside of the Charms room waiting for the Ravenclaws to emerge. They finally did and Holly was about to enter the class when Cho caught her by the arm.

"Holly," she said, "Could I talk to you for a minute?" Frowning, Holly consented.

"What is it, Cho, you sound concerned?" Cho nodded. 

"I am," she said quietly, but Holly could see desperation in her eyes. "It's Cedric." Holly started and her heart leapt into her throat.

"What about Cedric?" she asked, forcing her heart back down into her chest.

"Well, I was just wondering…" Her voice was quivering. This can't be good, Holly thought.

"What is it, Cho, is something wrong with Cedric?" But Cho shut her eyes tight and shook her head. Holly realized she was trying not to cry. Cho gulped down the lump that had obviously been forming in her throat and opened her eyes, which were glistening.

"He… you two aren't, you know…" Holly gaped as she realized what this was about.

"You think he still fancies me!" she shrieked, incredulously.

"Keep it down!" Cho pleaded. Holly nodded.

"You needn't worry, Cho. There is nothing between Cedric and I."

"Nothing at all?" said Cho, hopefully. Holly shook her head. "Because he speaks of you constantly and you spend more time with him than I do! And I was just wondering if maybe…"

"No," Holly decided, emphatically, as her heart broke inside her. "There is nothing whatsoever between me and Cedric." Cho blushed.

"I'm sorry, I should have just confronted him and asked him… I should have trust him, but… But I couldn't bring myself to ask him, Holly! He'd get defensive, you know how guys are." Holly nodded.

"Yes," she said. "Yes I do." Cho smiled.

"Thanks, Holly…" As she walked away, Holly saw her paused. She turned. "And Holly?" she said.

"Hm?"

"Can I just say that… And I know this from experience… When the one you love does not love you in return, you don't just stop caring for them. That feeling… It never goes away. Not for as long as you both live." Holly's heart twisted in her chest and she felt nauseous.

"OK, Cho…" was all she could bring herself to say. As she walked into the Charms classroom, she said to herself, "I'm doomed!"

Holly moped around after that, realizing that Cedric was happy with Cho and she wasn't. She couldn't break them up, even if Cedric did still feel something for her. It wasn't right. But… No, she couldn't even think of it. It was selfish. She forced her thoughts to wonder about how Harry was doing with the Third Task now that he knew what it was…

She thought of something she had never thought of before. Bartemius Crouch. What was going on in that screwed-up little head of his…? Harry and Viktor Krum had discovered him in the woods but he had disappeared.

There was something strange going on and Holly didn't like it.

As she sat down at the table for breakfast one morning, she decided to play detective and try and figure out all the clues. She took out a parchment and wrote them down.

First clue: Voldemort wants Harry dead. (Well that was obvious, she thought.)

Second clue: Someone put Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire, possibly to try and bring him harm.

Third clue: Harry didn't put in his name, Holly was almost certain of that.

Fourth clue: The dream she had had about Voldemort and his servant. What had been going on?

Fifth clue: What in the world was going on with Barty Crouch?

Sixth clue: Holly had a bad feeling about the Third Task.

Staring at the clues she had written down, the mystery still didn't seem to make sense. Sighing and figuring she was no Sherlock Holmes, Holly crumpled up the paper and tossed it in the air and watch it burst into flames and turn to ashes.

"Miss Phillips!" Holly cringed at the sound of Snape's voice. "No magic outside the classroom! Ten points from your house!"

"I have a question if I may speak freely sir?"

"Yes?" Snape consented, but glared at her.

"Do you ever _award_ any points to the Gryffindors?" Scowling, Snape turned his back and walked away and Holly heard him mutter:

"An additional five points for your impudent comments."


	14. A Date with Cedric and a Discussion with...

Chapter Fourteen: A Date with Cedric and a Discussion with Dumbledore

"Holly!" Cedric shrieked, brandishing tickets in front of her. "Guess what?"

"Snape has now plotted a new and elaborate plan to try and expel me?" she guessed. Cedric laughed and his gray eyes danced.

"No, you twit! I got us tickets!"  
"Tickets?" Holly laughed. "Tickets to what?"

"It was Drew's idea," said Cedric. "He's a Muggle-born you know. I was going to take Cho, but she can't come. Has to study for exams or something… But I knew you never study for exams, so I knew you'd be free!"

"For your information, Mr. Diggory!" Holly shook her finger at him with a grin on her face. "I do too study!"  
"Fine, then I guess you don't want to go. It's OK, I can take someone else…"  
"No!" Holly shrieked as Cedric turned away. "I want to go!" He turned back to her with a grin.

"I thought so."

"Where are we going?" Holly asked, looking around the busy streets of London.

"The theater," Cedric replied, ushering her in.

"What?" Holly laughed.  
"Muggle entertainment. I heard it's great fun."

"Oh," Holly shrugged. "OK. What do we do at the theater?"

"What do you to at a wizarding theater?" Cedric laughed. "You watch a show!"

"What show?"

"It's called _A Little Night Music,_" Cedric replied. "I thought you'd like it." Holly smiled weakly.

"I'm sure I will," she said.

As the show ended Holly stared at the stage.  
"That was brilliant!" she cried. Cedric laughed.

"Drew said the theater was great. He was right."

"I know! Did you see that? How Anne ended up with Henrik and Desiree sung that wonderful song! Send in the clowns!" Holly started humming the tune to herself. Cedric put his arm around her in a friendly fashion.

"I'm glad you liked it. I needed to get away from the school and the Tournament, and this just seemed like the best way to do it."

"This was a great idea," Holly said. "Remind me to thank Drew when we get back."

"I'll do it for you," Cedric said and they walked out of the theater laughing. 

Holly felt her head loll in the middle of Astronomy as the professor droned on about the stars in Orian being a link between worlds or some such nonsense. She wondered why she had ever really signed up for the class in the first place. Fred and George had been smart and decided not to take it, but Lee was there, but he was falling asleep as well.

"Hi!" 

"What!? I wasn't asleep, honest!" Holly jolted and looked around the room, Professor Sinestra staring coldly at her.

"Sorry, Professor," she mumbled. She then turned her head to her left and nearly screamed. Only about two inches away from her face was a ginger-haired girl with big blue eyes and a large grin. Holly sighed with relief.

"Hello, Cora," she muttered.

"All I said was hi, you didn't have to scream, you know," said the young and eager fifth year. "It was only a greeting—"

"Shut. Up." Holly said through gritted teeth.

"I know…" Cora sighed. "I talk too much. Don't get me wrong, I'm quite bright, so it's interesting, but nevertheless I talk too much. People hate it for someone to blurt out 'I'm bright!' They think the person's really saying 'I'm brighter than you are!' Which I'm not… Well, actually, I guess that kind of is what I'm saying. I'm brighter than a lot of people I know. Heck, I'm in this class, aren't I? Sixth year Astronomy and only in my fifth year! Wow!" Holly nodded with a forced smile.  
"That's good for you, Cora," she said.

"What phase is the moon in tonight, Miss Phillips?" Holly jumped at the question and turned to the steely gray eyes of Professor Sinestra.

"Um, er, I—"

"You weren't paying attention, were you?" asked the professor. Holly sighed and remembered Remus.

"Waning," she replied. "It's waning. Three nights ago it was the last night of the full moon." Sinestra scowled unhappily.

"Well, yes, then… But pay attention, Miss Phillips and don't chat with Cora. She's a brilliant girl and I don't want you distracting her!" Sinestra smiled kindly at young Cora who grinned eagerly back. Holly scowled.

"Yes, Professor," she mumbled. "I won't talk to the nosey fifth year again." Holly leaned her head on her hand and stared out the window at the conjured stars in the similarly conjured night sky that Sinestra was discussing. She could hear Lee Jordan snoring quietly next to her and elbowed him deliberately in ribs with her free hand as she continued to stare at the stars.

"Huh?" Lee grumbled. "I'm not used to being up this late…"

"You consider this late, Lee?" Holly chortled, quietly. Before Lee could answer, someone was at the door.

"Yes?" Sinestra scowled.

"Dumbledore asks to borrow Miss Phillips, if that is alright with you," said Snape, with equal amounts of scowling.

"Fine, take her!" Sinestra muttered.

"Thank you," Snape forced a grin, but when he looked at Holly, it disappeared. "You. Come with me."

As they walked down the stairs of the tall Astronomy tower, Holly's curiousity got the better of her.

"What does Professor Dumbledore want?" she asked.

"Despite what you may think, Miss Phillips, he doesn't tell me _everything!_ My best guess is that you and the Weasley twins are in trouble again," Snape muttered in reply, his pace quickening. "Come on, come on, don't dally! He said to be prompt!" Holly sighed and also picked up speed.

"I don't think I'm in any trouble, sir. At least, I can't think of anything I did…"

"You do so many horrible things, it's no wonder," Snape almost laughed.

"Excuse me, sir, but I am an over-all obedient student, am I not?"

"Not when you're arguing with teachers, Miss Phillips. Five points from Gryffindor. Now hurry up!"

"Holly…" Dumbledore mumbled from his desk. Holly looked skeptical.

"What is it, Professor?" she asked. "Snape seems to think I did something." Dumbledore laughed out loud at that remark.

"Oh, you did nothing, Miss Phillips, I assure you! Again, the reason I need to speak to you is about your brother…"

"OK, what did _he_ do now?" Holly laughed, but Dumbledore's expression was solemn and she halted.

"It's quite serious," said Dumbledore. "I was siphoning off thoughts into my Pensieve and some of them was about you… I was also reviewing the trials that happened years ago with the supposed Death Eaters… however, Harry was in my office because he had just awoken from a disturbing dream… He found my Pensieve and looked through it…"

"No…" Holly shook her head.

"Relax, Holly. It's a miracle he did not find my memories of you and his parents. He only saw the trials. Though, I believe if I hadn't interrupt him he would have seen it. But I also called you here to discuss the dream he had. It was one of Lord Voldemort again." Holly recoiled at the name.

"Don't," Dumbledore said pointedly when he saw her. "There's nothing wrong with a name." Holly sighed.

"I know," she said. "I know."

"The dream, he said, included a discussion between the Dark Lord and Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew, or Wormtail as he is being called now, was tortured and Voldemort threatened to feed him to a large snake. But instead, the Lord offered Harry instead."

"Why does this involve me?" Holly asked. Dumbledore smiled, sadly.

"If the pain in Harry's skull hadn't awoken him, I wonder what he would have heard Voldemort say about you?" Holly shivered.

"So you know, then?" Holly asked. "You know that Voldemort knows?" Dumbledore nodded, slowly.

"Harry told me when he was here."

"So he knows?!" Holly suddenly couldn't breathe. But Dumbledore shook his head.

"He has an idea, but he doesn't remember. I pieced it together with the fragments of the dream he could remember." Holly sighed with relief.

"I realize now," she said, "That the more people who know about me, the more dangerous my life becomes." Dumbledore nodded, slightly exasperated, with his eyes closed.

"Unfortunately, you seemed to have realized that too late. Voldemort knows of you, Holly, but what I wonder is _how_ he knows?"

"Believe me, sir!" Holly cried in defense. "I wonder that as well! I didn't tell anyone except…" Holly trailed off at Dumbledore's surprised look.

"Except?" He prompted. Holly heard the angst in his voice and possible slight anger. She sighed, about to come clean. She had never seen Dumbledore angry before.

"Cedric Diggory. And… That's it," she lied. She couldn't tell him about Rita Skeeter. Then she would really get reprimanded for that. She was exactly the kind of person Dumbledore and Remus had warned her about. Was it possible that Rita Skeeter could have told Voldemort? No, that was impossible… Wasn't it?

"Just Cedric?" Dumbledore pushed. Holly froze. Could she really lie to this man?

"Yes." She could.

"Did anyone hear you telling Cedric?" Dumbledore asked.

"Not that I'm aware of."

"So it could have been someone you didn't see? A spy, perhaps?" Holly froze again. Had Rita Skeeter been the only one watching them?

"Yeah, that makes a lot of sense… Or Professor, I'm so, so sorry!"

"It is not I who you put in danger, Miss Phillips," Dumbledore whispered. Those words were worse than reproach for they reminded Holly of the truth in them. 

"I know," she uttered, softly. "I know."

"Now, it's not only Harry you must keep a close eye on, it's yourself as well. I will alert Remus—"  
"No!" Holly shrieked. "You can't! He will kill me!" Dumbledore sighed.

"Is it Remus, or Lord Voldemort that you are more afraid of?"

"That's a hard question…"

"He has to know, Holly, so he too can be aware of your surroundings."

"Why does everyone else have to be aware of _my_ surroundings?" Holly demanded. "Why do I have to be aware of _Harry's_ surroundings?" Dumbledore smiled, weakly.

"Apparently you do not realize the weight your destiny carries."

"Pardon?"

"What once was lost is now found, what was forgotten is remembered, the Child will arise from the ashes of its parents and become the downfall of the Dark Lord Voldemort."

"That's what… That's what Cedric said…" Holly said.

"He knows of the prophecy."

"Prophecy?"

"And so does Voldemort," Dumbledore continued, ignoring Holly. "Which is why he wishes to eliminate every Potter child."

"It's a prophecy?" Holly was still stuck on that. Dumbledore nodded.

"Which is why you both must be watched closely. Though we believe the prophecy is most likely referring to Harry, since it was made on the day he was born, Voldemort will want to secure his reign." Holly's face burst with ecstasy, despite the situation.

"I'm important…" she said with a smug grin. "For once in my life, I am actually going to amount to something!"

"Holly, don't get carried away, the prophecy is probably not referring to you—" But Holly ignored him.

"I am actually as important as Harry Potter!"

"Of that there has never been any doubt!" said Dumbledore hastily. "We are all important in our own ways."

"Yes, but I'm _really_ important!" Dumbledore sighed and leaned back in his chair, giving up. "I… I _mean_ something!"

"I don't think you're taking this appropriately."

"I'm important!" Holly repeated.

"You're blowing this out of proportion. I probably shouldn't have told you of this prophecy."

"I'm _really_ important! Really!"

"This is nothing to be excited about, you are in severe danger—"

"I'm in danger, but if I'm in danger, shouldn't I be able to bask in the glory of being important?" Holly asked. Dumbledore had to laugh.

"You are quite a complex child."

"I am quite a complex young woman, you mean!" Holly corrected. "An _important_ complex young woman!" Dumbledore laughed again.

"Will you ever learn to take things seriously?"

"I get it from the Weasley twins." Holly beamed. "Hey, Dumbledore! Guess what?"

"What?" Dumbledore asked with a grin, humoring her.

"I'm important!" Dumbledore changed the subject.

"Remus informs me you know of Sirius Black's innocence?" he asked. He looked impressed, but Holly didn't know why. She nodded.

"Remus explained it to me."

"Sirius sent Harry a note telling him to be wary. He said if someone wants to hurt him, they're on their last chance. I can only hope he's correct and I can only hope nothing will happen during that third task. I want you to be wary of him as well, more so than before. Things are becoming very dangerous… And remember, don't draw too much attention to yourself. That display in the Great Hall when the champions were announced was enough to make anyone suspicious. Another incident like that…"

"I'll be careful, Professor," Holly promised. "And I'll look out for Harry…"


	15. My Hero

Chapter Fifteen: "My Hero…"

However Harry, it seemed, could look after himself. Whenever Holly found him, he was looking up spells in the library or practicing them with Ron and Hermione. He seemed prepared enough.

On the day of the third task, the twenty-fourth of June, Holly received a letter from Remus she found peculiar.

Holly,

I want you to meet a friend of mine. At ten o'clock on June 24, I will be on the edge of the forest with him. Please don't tell anyone of this meeting, it's going to be a secret. It has something to do with your brother and is very important.

See you there,

Remus

Holly grinned. She hadn't seen Remus in ages! It would be wonderful to see him again. But why on earth did he want to meet her by the Forbidden Forest? And what was this friend of his he wanted her to meet? And why did he want to meet her, it seemed, right after the third task? Wouldn't it make _more_ sense to warn her about further dangers to her brother _before_ he went into the maze?

Holly shrugged it off. It was Remus, and one never knew what he was up to.

She was in for a surprise…

"Hermione, what are you doing?" Holly asked the bushy-haired third year in the library.

"Looking up things on animagi… Ah ha! I knew it!"

"Knew what?" Holly was confused. Hermione beamed up at her.  
"We've got her! I'm sure of it! I just need to find a way to…" Hermione bit her lip, than had another idea. "Ah ha! But will that hold her… Unbreakable glass, then she couldn't…" Hermione walked off muttering. Holly had to laugh. She looked at her watch and realized she was about to be late for her Transfiguration exam.

"Oh hell!" she cried as she dashed out of the library, remembering Dumbledore's orders to look after Harry and his friends was the reason she had been in there in the first place.

When she went to lunch that day, she felt as if red was the newest 'in' color to dye your hair as she saw nearly the whole Weasley family surrounding Harry and Hermione.

"What's going on?" she whispered into Fred's ear.  
"Mum and Bill came to watch the task," he informed her.

"Holly!" Mrs. Weasley beamed. "You haven't been by in ages! Why didn't you come to the World Cup with us? Fred and George were so disappointed! I mean, really, they were moping for days afterward because they didn't see you there!" Holly frowned, about to say she had attended the Quidditch World Cup, but George leaned in close to her and whispered something in her ear.

"That was our explanation for being upset when we realized Bagman cheated us out of our money."  
"I'm flattered you thought of me," Holly hissed with a sarcastic smile. "How's that going by the way?"  
"Later," said Fred, feeling his mother's gaze.

"My mother didn't want me to go," Holly replied, deciding to make up her own sob story. "Ever since my father died—" Mrs. Weasley's eyes welled with tears. Holly knew how emotional she got whenever Holly mentioned her father. She continued. "—Well, she doesn't really like Quidditch any more and… It just reminds her of him."  
"Oh you poor dear!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed while Fred and George chortled knowingly behind her back. Holly spotted Hermione.

"Hey Hermione, what were you on about in the —" But Hermione gave her a warning look and she cut off instantly. Harry and Ron looked at them, curiously.

"Good to see you, Holly," Bill said, politely holding out his hand.  
"And you too, Bill. It's been a while…"

"Not since school, eh?" He laughed. Holly nodded. She looked around at the familiar faces.

"Where's Percy?" she asked. "And Charlie? And your Dad?"  
"Charlie couldn't get time off work," Bill informed her. "Neither could Dad, but… Percy, he's under some strain."  
"Ah," Holly nodded, then frowned. "Why?"

"With Crouch's disappearance, it's been hard on him," Mrs. Weasley whispered. Holly nodded.

"Oh, yes, I see…" she looked past the Weasleys at the Hufflepuffs and noticed Cedric dining with his parents.  
"If you would excuse me," she said politely, with a grin as she pushed past Mrs. Weasley and headed toward the Hufflepuff table. Cedric broke into a grin.  
"Hey!" he cried as he gave her a friendly hug.  
"Hey, thought I'd just come over and say hi!" she said, and nodded at his parents.

"Dad, Mum, this is Holly Phillips, she—"  
"No relation to… Jason Phillips, is there?" Mr. Diggory interrupted.

"Um, yes, actually," Holly nodded. Mr. Diggory cringed.  
"Oh that man was wild, wasn't he? Awful man, always arguing, never happy until he got his way…" Mrs. Diggory delicately touched her husband's arm.  
"Amos, I recall you mentioning something about bravery in that man…" she said, softly. Mr. Diggory smiled at his wife.

"Of course, dear, I was just kidding! Would I ever speak ill of the deceased? He was a great man, Holly. I was lucky to work with him."

Cedric forced a laugh and Holly heard him utter to his father, "Dad, sometimes your jokes _aren't_ funny!" Mr. Diggory grunted and gave his son a stern, but proud look. He then turned to Holly.

"Of course, we're very proud of our Cedric, making it into the competition… Shame Harry Potter had to come in and steal the limelight yet again…"

"Dad…" Cedric muttered, warningly.

"Of course, we all know Cedric will show them all in the end. Cedric's tied with him, you know. In the lead. He's going to get to that cup before Harry is, aren't you, Cedric?" Mr. Diggory playfully punched the boy.

"Dad…" Cedric said again, this time slightly embarrassed. Holly saw the color rising in his cheeks.

"He's a good son, and we all know who deserves that cup, don't we?" Holly forced a laugh.

"Um, yeah, I'm really proud of Cedric too…"  
"Dad, did I mention Harry Potter is one of Holly's best friends?" Mr. Diggory looked taken aback.  
"Surely that's not true! You aren't a friend of his?" Holly nodded, slowly. Mr. Diggory took up his proud stance again, however. "Well then, I'm sorry, but the truth must be heard! Did you know Cedric beat him in that Quidditch match last hear?"

"Dad, it was unfair, Harry fell off his broom—"  
"But you didn't know that until after you caught the Snitch, isn't that right?" Mr. Diggory grinned. "Therefore, it's not cheating!"  
"I never said it was cheating, I said it was an unfair victory," Cedric said though gritted teeth. "And besides, Gryffindor ended up winning the Quidditch Cup anyway." Mr. Diggory grunted.

"Do they always have to take the glory away from the truly wonderful house? Hufflepuff deserved that victory, they haven't had a victory in years!" Holly instantly drew her black robes closer around her and tried to hide any crimson and gold she was wearing.

"Dad," Cedric muttered. "Holly's in Gryffindor."  
"Oh, well then, I apologize, but again, the truth can hurt sometimes!"

"Amos…" His wife warned. Mr. Diggory subsided.  
"Well, it was nice to meet you, Holly. Any relative of Jason's is a friend of mine. Your father was a good man."  
"Thank you, Mr. Diggory," Holly smiled, politely, than looked urgently at Cedric.

"Um, Mum, Dad? Me and Holly will be right back, OK?"

As they exited the castle onto the grounds, Holly was in fits of laughter.

"What's so funny?" Cedric demanded.

"Your father!" she cried. "He's great!"

"He's not great… He always has to make me live up to his standards… Do you know how hard that is?"  
"Relax!" Holly cried. "It can't be that bad."

"Well it is," he said with a sigh. "Don't you have an exam next?"

"No, I don't have a class next." Holly grinned as an idea occurred to her. She reached down and picked up a twig from the grass.  
"What are you doing?" Cedric asked, suspiciously.

"Showing you what you once showed me," she replied as she transfigured the stick into a soft white rose. He smiled.

"Thanks…" he said, taking the rose. "I'll keep this one."  
"I bet you will. Every time your father annoys you, just look at that rose and remember you can always complain about him to me. But also remember, he probably just wants what's best for you."  
"Where'd you get that kind of wisdom, Holly?" Cedric laughed.

"I don't know… It's poetic, kind of, though, isn't it?" They both chuckled and approached the lake.

"It's a beautiful day for the Third Task, isn't it?" she commented.

"Yeah, it is," Cedric replied, looking up at the blue sky. "The lake is calm today." Holly nodded as she approached its edge. There was silence for a moment.

"I'm sorry I got mad at you, Holly," Cedric said, finally, staring out across the lake so as not to meet Holly's eyes.  
"Sorry?" Holly said, confused.

"When you… Back in the hall. I should have understood, but I… I just couldn't. The way you were acting and that kiss… I could have sworn… I thought we were meant for each other, I really did." There was another moment of silence.

"I still do," Holly finally said. Cedric looked at her and frowned. It was her turn to stare out across the lake.

"What?"

"I know how you feel now, Cedric," she said in a whisper. "Loving someone who doesn't love you back…" Cedric took her by the shoulders with a crazy smile.  
"But Holly!" he cried. "I… I _do_ love you back! I've never stopped!" Holly stared at him, aghast.

"But… But what about Cho!"  
"I… I love her too…" Cedric muttered, looking at the grass. "She's always been there for me. And… And I think I really do love her… She stood by me when you… you rejected me and she consoled me. My other friends just gave me room. I asked for solitude but Cho wouldn't let me have it. She knew, despite what I said, that I needed a friend, even before _I_ knew it. And she's so gentle and caring and… beautiful…" Holly nodded, pulling away from his grip on her shoulders.

"I understand," she said, looking down into the depths of the dark lake.

"Don't get me wrong," he said, looking across it once more into the Forbidden Forest. "Once someone stumbles into that hole in the heart that people call love, I don't think they can ever climb out again, not even after the person they fell in love with is gone. Not even after they _both_ die. It's one of the few things in life that always lasts, I think, and sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes it isn't. But Holly, you were the first person I ever truly loved and I will never forget that. Never. I'll always be in love with you, Holly, but I know now that it was never meant to be."  
"How do you know?" Holly demanded, her eyes imploring. "We never even tried."  
"If it was meant to be, it would have happened," Cedric replied, looking very distant. "Cho loves me, and I love her, and I am not about to break her heart just because you realized you were in love with me. Remember what I told you about you not being the center of the universe? Maybe it's better this way."  
"But you said it yourself! You're in love with me too! Why can't we just—"

"Holly!" Cedric finally turned to her, a painful, yet determined expression in his eyes. "I don't know how to explain it. I will always love you, Holly, and I will always remember that kiss… I'll never forget it. But I am with Cho now, and that is where I intend on staying." Holly nodded, finally accepting it.

"I understand…" she said, her heart feeling very heavy in her chest. They both stared out at the lake for a second. Holly was about to turn around and return to the castle when her foot slipped. Something reached up and grabbed it. She yelped as she fell backwards into the water. When she surfaced again, she screamed. She seemed to be floating farther out into the lake.  
"HOLLY!" Cedric screamed, and he shed his robes and jumped in after her.

The water was like ice around her, even in the warm summer June day. She couldn't feel anything, she couldn't see anything but black. She felt as if cold bony fingers were clenching her lungs and squeezing all the air out of her. She tried to scream, but there was no breath left in her to do so as the murky water engulfed her. She felt a slimy tentacle around her angle and struggled to free herself.

A hand grabbed onto her wrist swiftly, but she pulled away from it.  
"NO!" she tried to say, but she couldn't. The hand made for her flailing wrist again and whoever it was pulled her up, away from the tentacle that was still squeezing her ankle. She opened her eyes to see the strong body of Cedric Diggory pulling her up to the surface. She felt as if her lungs were on fire. She couldn't breathe; she felt as if her ribs were crushing her lungs.

"Cedric…" she muttered as her head began to feel extremely light. It lolled back and she fell unconscious.

Cedric pulled at Holly's arm, trying desperately to bring her to the surface, but she was heavier than he thought. He couldn't go up for air, for fear of loosing Holly. He tried hard to heave her limp body up. As his head broke the surface, he screamed.

"HELP!" he cried, as loud as he could before he went under again. Something was pulling her down, he was sure of it. He swam down to Holly's foot and yanked at the slimy tentacle that had wound itself up her calf. He tore at it furiously. For a moment, he was terrified. Was Holly dead? Had he lost her forever?

The thought struck him and he froze, the tentacle in hand. He tried to look up at Holly and her head lolling on her shoulders as she fell deeper into the water, her hair waving about her in the water independently. He then turned back to the tentacle and remembered for the first time after diving in the lake that he had magic. He tore out is wand and blasted a spell at the strong tentacle. It drew back and let go of Holly's leg.

The young girl fell through the water like a rag doll. Cedric immediately grabbed her under her elbows and pulled her up, kicking furiously with his legs.

When he reached the surface once more, Holly felt heavier than ever.  
"HELP!" he shrieked once more. This one, he noticed three figures in the distance that started running towards him. He and Holly went under once more, but this time only briefly as Cedric gave a powerful kick to push them up once more. With his free hand, he helped his legs tread water. As they came nearer, Cedric could identify the figures.  
"Harry!" he screamed, pulling Holly up. "Holly—She was pulled in!"

"WHAT?!" He heard Harry scream and pick up the pace. When he arrived, he too dove into the lake and swam out to retrieve the girl. With one of Holly's arms draped over Cedric and the other over Harry, the two young men pulled Holly to the shore, where Bill and Mrs. Weasley were waiting anxiously. They pulled Holly out and Cedric started pushing on her chest to try and get the water out.

"Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation!" Harry cried. The three conscious people looked at him, silently asking 'What?'

"It's a Muggle thing…" Harry muttered. "I panicked." Cedric pulled out his wand again and muttered something and the misty spell seemed to enter through Holly's mouth. There was a few seconds of silence while everyone waited, on edge. Finally, there was a sharp intake of breath from the victim and she began to cough up water. Cedric beamed at her and she opened her eyes briefly and smiled up at him.

"My hero…" she muttered, before falling unconscious once more.


	16. Holly Finds Clarity and Temporary Insani...

__

A/N: I must be evil. I had so much fun writing this chapter and then denied you the pleasure of reading it for weeks. I'm curious about what you think happened to Holly in the maze—Speculate, by all means, for it will only be explained by Dumbledore—In the next installment which will appear no sooner than five months from now. ;-)

Chapter Sixteen: Holly Finds Clarity and Temporary Insanity

"Miss Phillips, you don't want to miss the final task, do you?" Holly jolted up and looked around to find Professor Dumbledore smiling at her.

"Where am I?" she asked, looking around.  
"Where do you think? The Hospital Wing of course. Mr. Diggory brought you here after you fell into the lake."

"Did he?" Holly frowned. "Ah, he did… Professor, something grabbed me!"

"I know," Dumbledore nodded. "Cedric explained it all to me. Any idea what it was?"  
"No," Holly shook her head. Dumbledore smiled.

"We will discuss this further later. The Task starts in an hour. I suggest you get some dinner." And with that, Dumbledore rose and disappeared.

~

Holly was so excited she could barely stay seated.

"Holly, would you stop jumping up and down like that? It's embarrassing!" Fred took her by the shoulders and pulled her down.  
"I'm sorry, I can't help it! It's just, Harry and Cedric are tied!"  
"I know," came a voice from behind them. Holly jumped and turned to see a grinning Amos Diggory and his wife.

"Hello, Mr. Diggory!" Holly said cheerfully. "I am absolutely ecstatic! Cedric and Harry, neck and neck, and after this, I get to see one of my closest friends! How could this night get any better?" Mr. Diggory laughed.

"Aren't you enthusiastic?"

"Leave the children alone, dear," his wife said with a warm smile.  
"Hi guys!" Ron cried. He and Hermione were making their way over to them, followed closely by Bill and Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh Holly, dear!" Mrs. Weasley cried, her fingers flying to her face. "Are you alright? Are you fit to be up and about?" Holly gave her a reassuring smile.  
"Yes ma'am, but thank you for your concern!"

"Has it started?" Ron asked. As if in answer, Bagman's magically enhanced voice filled the air.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the points currently stand. Tied in first place with eighty-five points each— Mr. Cedric Diggory and Mr. Harry Potter, both of Hogwarts school!" Holly beamed and cheered and applauded with the rest of them. Bagman continued. "In second place with eighty points— Mr. Viktor Krum, of Durmstrang Institute!" More applause. "And in third place— Miss Fleur Delacour, of Beuxbatons Academy!" They applauded Fleur and noticed Harry wave up at them.

At the sound of Bagman's whistle, Harry and Cedric disappeared into the maze. A few minutes later, Krum followed them and after him, Fleur.

"What's going on? What's going on? What's going on?" Holly shrieked.

"Aw, calm down you daft prick!" Fred and George both rolled their eyes. Lee was gazing through his Omnioculars.

"It seems like they're doing OK right now," he informed them. Holly yanked the Omnioculars out of Lee's hands.

"Let me see!"  
"You know, you could have just asked," Lee snarled. But Holly wasn't listening; she was too busy watching Cedric and Harry, cheering for them both.

"Can Lee have his Omnioculars back, Holly?" George asked, tapping her tentatively on the shoulder after ten minutes. Holly waved him a way. Red sparks shot up into the air.

"What— Who's that, Holly?" Ron pulled on Holly's sleeve.

"Fleur," Holly mumbled. "But there was something unnatural about the way she…" Holly remembered seeing the blonde girl making her way, determined, through the maze when it looked as if she had just suddenly screamed and fell to the ground. Holly hadn't even seen who had sent up the red sparks, surely it couldn't have been Fleur…

But Holly was shaken out of her trance as an irking feeling rose up and seemed to grasp her heart and she was caught unaware. She didn't like this feeling and her vision quickly moved to Cedric, for she sensed something was deadly wrong now. He was trying to dodge… Viktor Krum?

"What the…" She leaned forward in her seat and gasped as Krum cast a spell at Cedric and he fell to the ground. "BASTARD!" she screamed.  
"Holly, what's going on?" Lee demanded, annoyed that she had stolen his only pair of Omnioculuars.

"Krum just hit Cedric with a…" She trailed off as Cedric writhed in pain on the ground and screamed. She jumped to her feet. "HE CAN'T DO THAT!" Holly hissed.

"WHAT?!" Everyone around her screamed. Holly wordlessly handed the Omnioculars back to Lee, who gasped.

"No, Holly, you're imagining things… _I'm_ imagining things, that can't be… Krum wouldn't…"  
"Well he did!" Holly hissed. Lee looked appalled, but he sighed with relief.

"Harry's just come through the bush and attacked Krum. It's stopped, Holly, Cedric's fine."  
"What happened to my boy?" Mr. Diggory demanded from behind them.  
"Nothing, sir," Lee said, his eyes still on the maze. "Nothing at all."  
"What did Viktor do?" Hermione shrieked.  
"Relax, Hermione, you're boyfriend's just a lying, torturing scumbag, that's all," Holly replied with a smile while Hermione scowled.

"No, Holly, he couldn't have done that, something's really wrong… Do you think the others saw that?" Holly just crossed her arms.  
"I hate Krum," she declared.

"They've gone their separate ways again," Lee informed them. "Harry and Cedric, I mean."

"Give me those!" Holly demanded, and yanked the Omnioculars out of Lee's hand again.

"Hey! I bought those, you know! With my own money!"

"Tough," Holly muttered as she followed Harry and saw him meet a sphinx. She then looked at Cedric who seemed to be making his way closer to the center… just to be tied up by a curse. But both of them got past their obstacles and got to the center at nearly the same time. Cedric ran to the cup but…

"Oh crap!" Holly cried. "Spider!"

Harry seemed to notice the overgrown insect as well as he seemed to warn Cedric. Cedric and Harry battled the beast together. The spider picked Harry up in its pincers and dropped him again and he and Cedric reached for their wands and fired a stunning spell at it. But when the drama was over, neither of them went for the cup.

"What the hell are they doing? They're just… standing there!" Ron took the Omnioculars out of Holly's hands and looked for himself.

"She's right," he said. "Harry's trying hard not to fall… What happened to his leg?" Hermione then took the Omnioculars.

"Cedric won't take the cup," she said. "He's talking to Harry."

"Idiots!" Fred screamed above the crowd. "TAKE THE CUP! ONE OF YOU!" Both of them looked up, almost as if they heard him, and Holly had to chuckle. Hermione handed Holly back the Omnioculars, with some protest from Lee ("Hey, those are mine, you know!")

Finally, it seemed Harry and Cedric worked out a deal and went for the cup together. Holly grinned, proud of her brother and her friend. But her grin disappeared.

"What now?" Lee asked.  
"They're gone!" She shrieked. "Is that supposed to happen?" Instantly, the teachers who had been patrolling the outside of the maze were in the center. They seemed to be examining the plinth the Triwizard Cup had been resting on and the area around it.

"I don't think so," said Amos Diggory from behind them. "Where's Cedric? Where's my son?"

"Cedric's gone?" cried Mrs. Diggory. "Oh…" Holly could hear the faintness in her voice and was feeling the same thing. Her head was spinning and her muscles were aching and a horrible feeling went down her spine.

"No…" she muttered. "Something is horribly wrong." And with that, she vaulted the barrier between the stands and the earth and ran as fast as she could to the maze, not even hesitating when she felt a stitch in her side. However, the bushes were an obstacle to get past.  
"DUMBLEDORE!" She boomed, ramming herself against the hard hedge. "What's going on?"

"No need to shout, Holly!" Holly started and spun around and saw Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge looking very solemn indeed.

"Cornelius, allow me to introduce Holly Phillips." Holly and Fudge stared at each other, coldly.

"We've met," they said, together, in robotic tones.

"You're father—"

"Don't even _start_ on my father, Fudge!" Holly threatened, pulling out her wand.  
"This isn't about anyone's father," Dumbledore interrupted, politely. "This is about our two missing champions. Come."  
"Why does _she_ have to come?" Fudge asked, with obvious distaste.  
"To make sure _you_ don't convict an innocent man again!" said Holly, coolly.

"Halt the feud for a moment, please," said Dumbledore. "Minister, Miss Phillips, follow me." Dumbledore led them both to the center, where Professor McGonagall, Hagrid, Professor Moody, and Professor Flitwick were still examining the scene where they disappeared.

"We can' find a trace of 'em, Professor," Hagrid informed them when he saw them. Flitwick nodded.

"Our best guess is that the cup was a Portkey," he said. "Somehow, someone…"  
"But that's impossible…" Fudge frowned. "No one could have…"  
"Someone obviously _did_ Minister. But the questions are, who, how, why, and most of all _where?_ Where did he take them?" The four teachers shrugged at Dumbledore's query, though it was obvious to Holly that he wasn't asking anyone in particular anyway. Her heart was pounding.  
"This is all my fault…" she muttered, remembering her reasons for procrastinating and not looking after Harry, all of them seemingly futile now. "Harry can't take care of himself, he is barely aware of his surroundings. Someone else has to…"  
"For some reason unknown to me, Holly, things seem to dawn on you too late," Dumbledore sighed, wearily. "Everything is staring you right in the face and you don't realize it until it's laughing at your ignorance."  
"I'm sorry, Professor," Holly muttered.  
"Just like her father…" Fudge shook his head. Holly didn't even have the bite to retort. The feeling of guilt rose in the pit of her stomach, a feeling worse than nausea. And Dumbledore was right; Holly did seem to realize things too late. Her love for Cedric, the reason for keeping her true identity secret, the reason for looking after her brother, hell, even her own _personality_ didn't seem to make itself clear to her until two years ago.

"DAMN IT!" Holly swore in frustration. "Where are they?! WHERE ARE THEY!" Holly kicked at the plinth. She stood there, frozen for a moment, waiting for the pain to explode in her foot. Faithfully and punctually, as pain often is, it did.

"OW!" Holly screamed before the tears stung her eyes and she fell backwards onto the cool, moist grass.

She stared up at the dark, diamond-studded velvet and momentarily found peace. As she looked up at the burning, carefree stars and the sliver left of the moon, she smiled, almost hysterically, at the silence that surrounded her.

All thoughts and worries of Harry and Cedric were pushed to the back of her mind as if they were unimportant. All shrieks of horror, excitement, and alarm from the crowd were muted as if someone had taken a giant remote from one of those Muggle televisions and turned down the volume. All mutterings and cries from the professors surrounding her were now obsolete. Even Fudge's annoying voice couldn't penetrate Holly's deafness. There were only two things in the world: Holly, and the firmament above her.

A dazed and blissful expression over took her eyes and her lips parted as she watched the dancing ballet of the stars to the silent, lunar music. They were so beautiful, so wonderful, so wise, so aware, so serene… Everything Holly had tried so hard to be, and yet could seem never to achieve.

The rustling of robes broke through Holly's oblivion. The weak smile, and now sad, sparkling blue eyes obscured her view of the peaceful stars above her. Professor Dumbledore was looking down at her, patiently waiting for her to come to her senses.

"Are you with us, Holly?" he asked in a whisper. Slowly, and with much effort, she tore herself out of her dream and nodded. "You must be very alarmed."  
"My best friend is missing," she said in a monotone. "And my brother. They're both missing and I can't find them, I can't find them anywhere, Professor, and I've looked so hard. I tried to look after them, I didn't mean to drag Cedric into this, it just happened. They aren't in the library, Professor, or in the common room and I don't think they're in their dorms. They aren't in the Great hall nor any classrooms of Hogwarts. I searched everywhere, Professor, but I just couldn't find them, I just can't find them. They're gone and I don't know where they are." Dumbledore looked up at someone.

"No comments from any of you," he said. "It's normal, she's traumatized."  
"I even looked at the bottom of the lake," Holly went on, deaf to Dumbledore's words. "But they weren't there. Imagine that? I went all the way to the bottom of the lake to find them. And I hate water. I remember the coldness of the water, I remember the numbness of my mind, I remember wondering if this was it, if it would be a watery grave that I would find, but I didn't… Somehow, he saved me. He's my hero and now he's gone, he's left me here to drown, all alone, all by myself…"

"Holly, please…" It was Professor McGonagall who was kneeling over her now on the opposite side of Dumbledore. "You must come to your senses. True, we don't know where Harry and Cedric have disappeared, but don't assume the worst until you see it for yourself."

"Don't assume the best, either," Dumbledore added, with a solemn glance at McGonagall. 

"I know it's happened," Holly said, coldly, glaring at Dumbledore with burning eyes. "I know it has. I can feel it. I could always feel it. Whenever something happened to him, I would feel it. Like in the Task when Krum tortured him, I feel it burn my heart, as if it were I he was torturing. The Task, it seems so long ago now. Now that he's… And I know it's happened. I know what you've done. I can't feel him anymore. I can't feel him…" Even Dumbledore was stunned.  
"What did you say, Holly?" he asked.

Holly blinked and shook her head wildly. She sat up, as if nothing had happened, stood up calmly and declared, "Well!" She looked around at them with a smile. "That was wild, wasn't it? I'm going to go for a walk!" And with that, she marched right out of the maze and straight to the lake, with no one bothering to follow her.


	17. Strange Remus but Stranger Cedric

Chapter Seventeen: Strange Remus— Stranger Cedric

Holly grinned happily as she walked around the lake without a care in the world, singing softly to herself. It was then that she remembered Remus's note!

"Oh!" she said to herself as she looked across the lake. "There!" There were two figures, standing in the shadows. "Remus!" she called out to them.

"Hello, Holly! Come here, we can't be seen in the light!" came Remus's voice. Holly grinned as he approached her, not even wondering about his strange comment.

"Remus," she said, her smile fading. "Something terrible has happened. Something terrible. I don't know where they are, they're gone, he's left me here to drown, Remus, do something! Please, Remus, let me feel him again!" He smiled weakly and stroked her hair.  
"Relax, Holly," he said, soothingly. "Everything is going to be alright." Holly frowned, realizing for the first time that something was _definitely _wrong. In the midst of chaos, in her disordered, frenzied, worried mind, her eyes began to see things for what they truly were.

She stepped away from Remus's warm touch.  
"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "Something's wrong. Remus, what's going on? I don't know what's going on anymore, Remus. Help me!" Tears began to form in her eyes.

"Holly, why do you pull away from me?" Remus said, laughing slightly.  
"Why did you want to meet me after the Third Task?"

"It's the only time we could get here, Holly. And I wanted to find out who had won."  
"Why didn't you just come and watch the task?" Remus laughed again.

"Do you think that parents would be comfortable with a werewolf around their children this close to the full moon?" Holly's frown deepened.  
"But Remus… The full moon was a week ago, remember?" Before Remus could reply, his companion stepped out from the shadows of the woods.

"I know," he said with a grin. "Stupefy!"

~

"Wake up, you stupid girl." Holly felt a boot come in contact with her stomach. She opened her eyes.  
"What's going on? Where's Cedric?" The man laughed.

"Look up at me, girl!" Holly did so. She could barely see through the darkness and her vision was blurred. She saw a man with sharp features and a black mustache. His dark hair was neatly trimmed and he wore black robes. Holly noticed a black tattoo on his arm, but couldn't make it out.

"Who are you?" she asked, dazed. He smiled.  
"I am the man that killed your father," he laughed.

"Remus…" Holly muttered, confused. "Where's Remus?"

"At the lake," said the man. "He was such a great help."  
"Remus wouldn't betray me…" Holly shook her head, stubbornly. The man laughed again, a hoarse, cruel laugh.  
"Of course he would, Holly! What are you to him anyway? Just another burden!"

"I'm not a burden…" Holly looked up at him with confused eyes.

"Yes you are. Ever since the day you were born, you were a burden. You were even a burden to your own parents. To _both_ sets of parents."  
"That's not true!" Holly cried. "That's just not true!"  
"Of course it is!" The man threw back his head in another cruel laugh. "Always begging your mother to play with you when you knew she had to tend to the baby! And your father, you would never stop asking him questions. They were so exasperated with you. Why do you think your mother left you in the bushes that night?"  
"You're lying!" Holly yelled now. "You're lying! My parents loved me!"  
"And to the Phillips!" the horrible man continued. "They were _forced_ to take care of you! You can't just leave a kid out in the streets! Do you know what we were arguing about the day your father died?" The man grinned a yellow-toothed grin.

"Wha… What?"

"You," he hissed and Holly caught the scent of his horrible breath. "All about you. He was complaining about you. I tried to defend you, Holly. I didn't know you, but I tried to defend you. You can't just say you don't love your own child…"  
"No!" Holly shrieked. "He never said that!"

"He did," the man laughed. "And he told me I didn't have the right to defend you, since I'd never even met you, and he pushed me. So I pushed him back. He tripped, it wasn't my fault…"  
"Gareth Larkin…" Holly muttered in recognition. "You… He didn't! He loved me!"  
"You know your father always spoke his mind," Larkin grinned. Holly screamed.

"HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT HIM THAT WAY! HE LOVED ME!"

"You tell yourself whatever I want, Holly, I know what I heard." He was still grinning and Holly hated it. All she wanted to do was maul the man and rip out his vocal cords with her own fingers so she couldn't hear that gruff, harsh laugh anymore. But she said nothing, trying to calm herself, remembering Remus's words of advice to her whenever he tried to teach her how to defend herself.

__

"Now Holly, keep your wand steady…"

"I KNOW Remus!" the young girl shouted angrily, her fiery temper shining through her otherwise impassive eyes. He smiled, weakly.

"Calm down, Lily—Holly!" he corrected instantly. The girl took no notice. "Now! Hold the wand steady!"

"It's steady, it's steady," the twelve-year-old muttered. "Now what?"

"Be ready for your attacker. Anticipate every move before he even knows what he's going to do."

"But that's impossible!"  
"No it isn't, you just have to keep a clear head and concentrate on his position, his stance, and the way he's holding his wand. Open those big brown eyes of yours and observe your opponent."  
"This is getting frustrating!"

"Keep a level head while you're dueling, Holly. Never let your opponent get to you, it will distract you. This important, so please, pay attention."

At the time, Holly had thought the lessons were stupid and a waste of time. But now…

"OK," she said, holding herself up high, taking on the expressionless face she had achieved so easily before her fifth year.

"OK?" Larkin looked confused. Holly grinned.

"So he didn't love me. I loved him, right? That's what matters, isn't it? I don't care if he found me annoying, I loved him and I love myself."

"Right," Larkin laughed, amused. "Stay here, girl. We were told to wait."  
"Wait?" It was Holly's turn to look confused. "Where are we?" Holly looked around and found herself in a circle of gravestones, the sky above them dark. You couldn't see the stars here. Holly looked around at the surrounding landmarks. She couldn't see a forest or Hogwarts or even the mountains that surrounded them. All she saw was a house on a hill in the distance. Larkin grinned his yellow grin.

"Little Hangleton." He said. Holly looked shocked.

"Where?" she asked.

"You ask too many questions," he said as he glowered at her. She glowered right back. Someone in dark, hooded robes approached them.

"Larkin!" the man said, sharply and Larkin snapped to attention. "He needs you now…" Larkin nodded like a soldier to a colonel and pulled Holly roughly by the arm to her feet. Using his wand, he bound her hands together with a thick robe behind her back and shoved her forward.  
"Move," he ordered, the mocking tone completely gone from his voice. She did so, reluctantly. As they stumbled across the graveyard, Holly began to notice a group of people surrounding something…  
Soon, a cold, shrill voice broke through the still night air and sent shivers of recognition like spiders up Holly's spine.

"…Harry Potter has kindly joined us for my rebirthing party. One might go so far as to call him my guest of honor."  
"NO!" Holly screamed, hysterically, flinging herself forward so fast, she fell on the ground. She felt a sharp stone gash her cheek but she didn't care. She struggled to get to her feet again, but it was difficult with her arms behind her back. Larkin approached her and yanked Holly up. Holly's scream had attracted everyone's attention and she felt at least a hundred eyes on her. She could feel the embarrassment inside her heart, but she was too confused with other emotions to care.  
"NO!" she screamed again. She noticed they were surrounding a statue and something was tied to it… A young boy with glasses and messy black hair… "HARRY!"

"Holly?" The boy seemed absolutely shocked. Holly turned from her brother to the second person at the center of the Death Eaters' attention. The unnatural being gave her a crooked grin.

"Ah, yes!" he hissed like a snake. "The final guest has arrived! Bring her to me, Larkin…" Larkin shoved the girl in the middle of the circle, but she wasn't looking at the pale figure in front of her. She was looking beyond him, beyond Harry, beyond the circle of Death Eaters. She was looking straight into those wonderful gray eyes of her beloved, staring straight back at her, barren, cold and… lifeless.

"C-C-C-Ced-Cedric!" It was an unnatural, stuttering groan of agony that escaped her lips as the grief welled in her brown eyes in the form of tears. She couldn't even say his name. She just continued making an 'S' sound.

"C-C-C-C-C-C-Ced-ric… CEDRIC!" she screamed the name in anguish and lunged at the boy beyond the Death Eaters, but again, she failed and fell to her knees. "Cedric!" she howled. "Cedric, please, please, Cedric! Cedric!" The tears poured like waterfalls from her eyes as her throat constricted and her stomach churned. She nearly vomited from the nausea. She couldn't handle this; this wasn't right; this had never happened before. Why was it happening to her? Why did it happen to Cedric?

She collapsed on the ground in grief-stricken sorrow, shaking with tears and frustration. All the memories she had shared with him came flooding back to her. That kiss in the hall, the jokes they shared, the advice he gave her, the secrets she told him, the white rose they had always exchanged, even earlier that morning by the lake! Oh, why hadn't she embraced his love when she had the chance? Why, why, _WHY?!_ Scenes flickered past her mind like photographs and the scene she saw most often was her companion, the friendly, confident Cedric… laughing. Laughing at Holly's ignorance, laughing at her worries, laughing at her jokes. Just… laughing. But now… he just stared and his eyes had lost that wonderful dancing sparkle they had once held. No one was laughing now. No one, except for Voldemort.

"No…" she whispered, shaking her head slowly. "Cedric can't be… he just can't be…" she couldn't even say the word.

"Oh, was he your friend?" said Voldemort in mock sympathy. "I'm ever so sorry… Did you say his name was Cedric? Well, I didn't know that! Thank you for enlightening me." Holly turned to Voldemort and glared at him.  
"I'll kill you," she said. "Just like you killed my parents. I'll kill you." Voldemort grinned his unnatural grin.

"Yes…" he hissed. "Just like I killed your parents. Tell me, Holly. Who were your parents, exactly? Because, as I recall, Elise Phillips is still alive and her husband wasn't killed by my hand." Holly just glowered at him, menacingly and didn't say a word. Voldemort's attention returned once more to Harry.

"Do you know who her parents are, Harry?" he asked, casually. Harry looked confused. Holly continued to glare at Voldemort. "Ah, yes, I didn't think you did. Of course, no one would have wanted you to know. They knew how you'd react. But I am not one to lie to my victims. Though I do have other vices, dishonesty is not one of them. Hm, I wonder, Holly, do you know the names James and Lily Potter?" Again, Holly didn't reply.

"If you're implying that we share the same parents, you're wrong," Harry said, coolly. "I am an only child."

"Is that what Dumbledore told you? Tut tut, he can't be trusted for anything!" Voldemort shook his head. "Lucius, would you care to explain?"

One of the Death Eaters around the circle stepped in. "It was my son," came the voice of Lucius Malfoy. "He overheard a young red-haired witch tell her friend that she was the sister of Harry Potter. He thought this needed looking into, so he came to me."  
"Who, in turn, went to my dear Wormtail here, isn't that right?" Voldemort hissed. Wormtail nodded. Harry was frowning and shaking his head.

"Then you got the wrong information. I don't have a sister." Harry's face was impassive. Voldemort's grin widened.

"You poor, naïve child. Ministry records speak of a Holly Lillian Potter born to James and Lily Potter two years before the birth of their second child, a son, Harry."

"You're wrong!" Harry insisted, stubbornly. "I don't have a sister! My family's dead, all of them, they're dead, do you hear me! D-E-A-D DEAD!" he shouted. He then looked at Holly who was looking at her knees. She couldn't meet his eyes.

"No…" Harry shook his head violently.

"Whatever you say, Harry," Voldemort laughed and turned to Holly. "You I will deal with later. After you watch your brother die."

"NO!" Holly shrieked, coming to her senses. She dove at Voldemort and knocked him off of his feet. The Death Eaters readied their wands, about to administer the killing curse, when Wormtail beat them to it with something completely different.

"STUPEFY!" he shrieked, and Holly fell unconscious.

__

A/N: Why did Wormtail stun her? Answers in next chapter! Review! (PS: When I say next installment, I mean Holly's seventh year, not the next chapter. When I say next chapter, I'll say 'next chapter.' Lol)


	18. Send in the Clowns

Chapter 18: The Funeral

__

A/N: Since I haven't updated in a while, this is a long chapter for you. Sad… But good. The next chapter will be the last so enjoy! Oh yeah, and if you want to hear Cedric's funeral from a different point of view, read my fic "Where the Wild Flowers Grow." Holly has a cameo appearance in that fic.

"What's going on?" Holly muttered when she opened her eyes again. Dumbledore was by her side, but the usual smile was gone from his eyes.

"Holly," he said, quietly. "You have been asleep for two days."

"Two days?" Holly said, groggily and dazed. Dumbledore nodded.

"And a lot has happened in that short amount of time."

"What do you mean?" Holly asked. "Where's Harry?"  
"Alive and well," Dumbledore assured her. "However…"  
"Cedric…" Holly interrupted. "I saw him. He was lying there as if he were…" she couldn't finish.

"He was," Dumbledore finished for her. "And sadly, he still is."

"He isn't," Holly said, shaking her head. "He isn't."  
"Holly…" Dumbledore closed his eyes, exasperated. To his surprise, Holly started to sing and tears began to glisten in her eyes.

"Isn't it… rich? Are we a… pair? Me here at last on the ground, you in mid-air… Send in the clowns…" Dumbledore nodded

"Desiree Armfeldt, A Little Night Music, scene six, second act." Holly looked at him. "Don't look so surprised, Miss Phillips, I happen to enjoy the Muggle theater." She smiled weakly.  
"Cedric took me to that play, you know," she whispered. "He…"

"I know," Dumbledore nodded. "I know."

"What happened?" Holly asked.

"Harry knows about you," Dumbledore sighed. "But he will not tell anyone." Holly nodded.

"So he's accepted it? He wouldn't believe it at first…"  
"He still doesn't quite believe it," Dumbledore nodded. "But he does know."  
"So no one else knows? Other than Sirius and Remus and you and Harry? Well, of course, there's also…" Dumbledore nodded.

"No one else knows," he whispered, interrupting her. He continued to tell Holly about the other things that had happened that night. About the spy at Hogwarts turning out to be Barty Crouch Junior, about the duel between Harry and Voldemort, about how Krum had been under the Imperious Curse.

"But Remus, he…" Holly frowned, still confused.

"We found him unconscious by the lake. He was the one who told us you were in grave danger," Dumbledore said. "But soon after, Harry arrived back home, clasping Cedric's body in one of his hands and the Triwizard Cup in the other."

"And where was I?" Holly asked. "How did I get here?"

"You didn't fall far away from Cedric's body. Harry had managed to throw your arm around his shoulder."

"And Remus?" Holly said again, remembering how he had betrayed her.

"Holly, you know Remus Lupin would never do anything to harm you if he could help it. He is still suffering the aftereffects of a particularly strong Imperious Curse."

"Oh." Holly muttered. There was a short silence. "And… And Cedric? What about Cedric?" Holly finally asked, her stomach churning again at the mention of his name.

"His funeral's today," Dumbledore said, quietly. "You're free to go if you wish." Holly nodded.

"I'd like to see him…" Though she knew if she saw him again, the nausea would return full force. It would make it real, it would make it all final. But she had to see him. Dumbledore nodded.

"I'll speak to Madame Pomfrey," he said. He stood up but before he left, he looked at Holly intently.

"What were you told by Larkin?" Holly looked surprised he knew. He explained. "Lupin told us." Holly nodded.

"He said my parents didn't love me…" Dumbledore smiled and for a moment, the twinkle returned to his jaded blue eyes.

"They weren't fighting about you, Holly," he said, quietly. "That, I know for a fact. Your father had a note. It was the real reason Larkin went to Azkaban, as well as first degree murder."

"First degree?" Holly gaped.

"The authorities figured Larkin knew his colleague was going to turn him in as a Death Eater. They argued about it in his office. Larkin probably tried to persuade Jason not to tell. He probably used every ounce of begging, wheedling and blackmail he could. Probably even threatened your life and your mother's." Dumbledore waited for a reaction, but Holly's emotionless mask was in place. He continued. "Larkin liked your father, Holly, many people did. He probably didn't want to kill him, it was probably a last resort. But we are pretty sure he planned it. If Jason didn't agree to not turn him in, which would be most likely because of Jason's stubbornness, Larkin knew the only way to get rid of him was to kill him. I just thought you should know that your father wasn't accidentally pushed, as the public was told, he was murdered." Holly was silent for a moment, absorbing this information. Suddenly, she frowned, the memories of that night coming back to her.

"Professor…" she said, her brow furrowed in thought. "Shouldn't I be dead right now?" Dumbledore smiled weakly and nodded.

"You should. Were it not for Peter Pettigrew."

"What?" Holly's eyes widened in shock.

"Harry told me about it when he was willing to speak," Dumbledore explained. "Before anyone else could harm you, he stunned you."

"Why didn't he…"

"Well, there are two reasons that I can see…" Dumbledore said, frowning as well now. "The first is pretty obvious. He knew that Lord Voldemort would need you alive, not dead."

"Why does he need…"

"And so he stunned you and Voldemort told the others to back away from you and that you wouldn't be any more trouble," Dumbledore interrupted, not ready to answer the question Holly was about to voice. "The second reason is a little less obvious. Last year, Harry saved Peter Pettigrew's life."  
"Oh…" Holly nodded. Dumbledore smiled.

"Pettigrew was in his debt."

"I see."

"But it has not been fully repaid yet," Dumbledore continued. Holly nodded, understanding.

"No debt is ever fully repaid," she whispered. For some reason, Cedric came to mind again and she felt indebted to him severely. He had saved her life by the lake that day. And she never had the chance to repay him. Dumbledore understood her silence.

"I should be going." Dumbledore sighed and finally left Holly all alone.

Holly looked around the room and smiled weakly, remembering the day Moody (or Crouch) had hit her with a Positive Celsius curse and sent her here and then how she had broken her arm in the hall.

__

"Twice in one day, hm? You sure are accident prone, Miss Phillips." Madame Pomfrey said, shaking her head.

"I know, I know, but can you mend it?" Holly asked. Madame Pomfrey looked horrified.

"Of course I can mend it! What kind of a silly question is that!"

"Great," said Cedric. "Then we can eat."

Good old Cedric… He didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve to… To die.

The sentence startled Holly. Cedric had died. He was dead. Dead. One syllable, full of so much sorrow. Her throat tightened around the lump of pain that began to form.

"Cedric…" she choked. She smiled weakly, remembering the play they had seen and continued to sing. "Isn't it bliss? Don't you approve? One who keeps tearing around, one who can't move… Where are the clowns? Send in the clowns."

She laughed weakly at how ironic that song fit her situation.

The day was clear and sky was blue with white fluffy clouds moving softly above them. Holly walked up slowly and sat down in one of the chairs. Next to her, she noticed, was a girl with long black hair and dark blue robes. Her head was in her hands and Holly could hear the small noises she made as she grieved.

Tentatively, the red-haired Gryffindor slid her arm around the Ravenclaw's shoulders. The girl looked up at Holly and gave her a weak smile through bloodshot eyes.

"I… I can't believe it, Holly…" she whispered. Holly nodded, understanding. "He's… He's gone and he's not coming back… He's not going to kiss me goodbye this time. He left without a word, not a single word, and he's gone, gone for good…"

"I know, I know," Holly whispered, as she let Cho sob into her shoulder. She tried her best to comfort her as her own heart was breaking. But she had done her crying. Before she had left to come to the funeral, Holly had let out all the tears in the hospital wing until she felt dehydrated.

"It's not fair…" she heard Cho mutter into her shoulder. "It's just not… fair. He didn't deserve this, he didn't…" Holly nodded.

"Are you going to give the eulogy?" she asked. Cho looked up at her, her mouth partly open.

"I… I was, but I don't think I can—"

"Go up there, Cho. You'll do better than I ever could," Holly urged. She smiled, weakly, but appreciatively none the less. As the pastor took the stand, Holly noticed someone else slide into the seat next to her. She looked and saw her brother, staring straight ahead of him. She smiled, wanly.

"I'm glad you came," she said. "Cedric would have wanted you here." He just grunted in reply. Holly had the feeling he was angry with her and she didn't blame him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, friends and family," the preacher began. "We are gathered here today to mourn the passing of Cedric Amos Diggory…"

A distinct sob from Mrs. Diggory could be heard.

The preacher droned on but all Holly could hear was Desiree, singing her wonderful song, on that stage Cedric had taken her to.

__

Just when I'd stopped opening doors, finally knowing the one that I wanted was yours… Making my entrance again with my usual flare… Sure of my lines, no one is there…

Holly was sure of her lines, alright.

But who was there to listen to them?

Choking back a sob, she felt something resting on her shoulder and something furry brushed her neck. She looked over to see her younger brother, emerald eyes torn with sorrows of the past and future, staring at the preacher as he spoke and leaning his head on her shoulder. Holly smiled weakly and put a sisterly arm around him. She held him close to her.

When the preacher was finished and had introduced Cho to deliver the eulogy, there was hesitation from the Ravenclaw. But with a reassuring glance from Holly, the young girl rose in her dark blue robes and approached the stand.

"Cedric was… Cedric was a great friend…" she said in a shaking near whisper, though her voice was louder thanks to the Sonorous charm. "He and I, we were really great friends. He always made me laugh. I remember being worried about him in the Tournament and he'd actually laugh at me and assure me he would be fine. He would never fail to assuage my fears. God, I'll miss him…" Cho looked down and wiped her eyes with her right hand. She looked up again and her voice was quivering more noticeably now. "I-I'm sorry, I just… Maybe Holly should… No." She held herself up, tall and proud. She wasn't going to let herself cry, not here, not now. She was going to do this, if not for Cedric, then for herself.

"He deserves… Much more than what he… What he was given. I think we can all agree on that… Well! Anyway… I did prepare a speech for this, it's just…" Cho smiled, despite the situation. "Well, Cedric always had a knack for getting me flustered and I could never be organized whenever he…" she stopped, suddenly and her smile disappeared. She rustled her papers. "Let me see, where was I? Oh yes. He deserved much more than what he was given, as we all deserved to see him happily seize the Triwizard Cup or gracefully accept his defeat. He deserved to graduate, he deserved to get married, he deserved to have kids, he deserved to have a _life!_ He deserved to live and… And now he can't because… Because he was ripped away from it, ripped away from all of the warmth and love he thought he knew…" Cho was faltering again. Holly sighed, quietly. The poor girl, Holly thought, Poor _me!_ Cho continued.

"God, he was such a great guy, wasn't he?" she whispered with a small laugh. "I can't even compose myself, I'm sorry. I could have done a better job at this, it's just… Well, he was Cedric. And he always used to make me smile…" Cho hesitated and Holly saw her mumble something, but couldn't make it out. "I think that's all I have to say," she said. "Or else I think I might burst into tears right here. Thank you."

People clapped slowly without much rhythm, appreciating the courage it took Cho to go up and do that; the courage that the rest of them didn't have. She stepped down from the stage and took her seat. Holly gave her a warm, reassuring smile, as she tightened her grip around Harry. Damn it was hard being the sturdy one who couldn't cry. Holly laughed at the irony.

"I don't think I have anything left in me to cry. Two years ago, I wouldn't have done anything…" she muttered to herself. "And now, I feel like… I feel like all forms of emotion I had ever felt in the past two years are gone again, like they've been ripped out of my body. Like I've lost a piece of my soul…"

"Where have you _been,_ Holly?" Holly was startled and looked around for who had asked the question when she realized it had come from the fourteen-year-old boy resting his head on her shoulder. "Where have you _been?"_

"I couldn't tell you, Harry, I wasn't allowed," she whispered to him. "It was dangerous, I—"

"All these years I thought I was alone…" Harry muttered, staring ahead of him, a confused expression on his face. "All those years… I thought it was just me, that I had no one else in the world but the Durselys. And then I found out I was a wizard. And then, I had something, I had _someone._ I wasn't alone anymore; I had Ron and Hermione. And I would never be alone as long as I had them…

"But I was wrong. I was alone. I had no parents, no relatives except for the ones who hated me. I had nothing. Nothing but Ron and Hermione, who I've kind of adopted as my brother and sister. But they aren't _really_ my brother and sister. They didn't _really_ understand what it was like to be me everyday, going through life knowing that someone out there wants you dead, that someone out there hates you more than you hate yourself, that someone out there killed your parents…" Harry trailed off. There was silence as they listened to the birds chirp and people mumbling to each other and paying their last respects.

"You hate yourself Harry?" Holly whispered, finally. Harry said nothing. "You have someone, you know. You're not alone." Harry looked up at her with a weak smile.

"I know," he said. "Not anymore."

Holly felt the emotion filling up the hole inside her heart that Cedric's absence had created. The emptiness was siphoning off slowly through her love for her little brother. Her baby brother. The one she had tried to soothe in her three-year-old arms all those years ago…

"I never knew you hated yourself, Harry…" Holly repeated, quietly, trying to get him to talk about it.

"I hate _what_ I am, not _who _I am. I hate being… being the subject of Voldemort's insanity. I hate being the reason my mother died, I hate bringing my close friends into this without meaning to, I hate… I hate all the stress. I hate being what I am."

"But it's who you are that really counts, isn't it?" Holly asked him with a smile. "It's what you do that matters. And if you hate _what_ you are, all that matters is what you _do_ about it. You can't change what you are, Harry, just as you can't change _who_ you are. Who you are is something you have become, something that is still changing. But what you are, what you are is… it's something special."

"What I am is something I was born with. A curse, that's what I am."

"But who you are is a living, breathing, loving young man that I will never let out of my sight again," Holly promised him. "You don't have to hate what you are, you know."

"I know," he mumbled. He then looked up at her with a true smile. "But I don't, not anymore. Because now I have someone who knows exactly how it feels like."

"You're not alone, Harry," Holly said, pulling him into a hug.

"And neither are you," he whispered.

Holly eventually had to get up out of her seat and pay her last respects to Cedric. Last respects… It sounded so final. She didn't intend on giving her last respects, merely paying him respect face to face for the last time. She would continue to respect and admire him for the rest of her life.

As she approached the coffin, she fingered a long twig from an ebony tree. She looked down at Cedric's stone-cold face, his eyes closed now, and tried to smile, but couldn't. There was nothing at all amusing about this.

"Hi," she said, as if actually speaking to him. Only this time, he didn't smile in return. She sighed, giving into her sorrow.

"I'm sorry, Cedric," she whispered. "I'm sorry I never told you… I never told you. How much I really do love you, Cedric, I was just too stupid to realize it. Please, forgive me. Forgive me for letting you go. I'll miss you…" Holly sighed, staring down at the body of the man she had fallen so deeply in love with. She remembered what he had said to her when they had stood by the lake two days ago.

__

"Once someone stumbles into that hole in the heart that people call love, I don't think they can ever climb out again, not even after the person they fell in love with is gone. Not even after they both die. It's one of the few things in life that always lasts, I think, and sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes it isn't. But Holly, you were the first person I ever truly loved and I will never forget that. Never. I'll always be in love with you, Holly, but I know now that it was never meant to be."

Holly wondered a thought that terrified her. _What if Cedric was right?_ What if she never fell out of love with him? What if she continued to love him for the rest of her life? What pain would that cause her?

But then, she thought another thought, with a smile.

__

Was that such a bad thing?

"Don't you love farce?" Holly sung with a forced laugh. "My fault I fear. I thought that you'd want what I want… Sorry, my dear. But where are the clowns? Quick, send in the clowns… Don't bother they're here…" Holly sighed and shook her head. She then remembered the twig in her hands and looked back at Cedric.  
"I bet you know what this is for, huh?" she said. "I bet you'd have done the same thing… Well, here we go…" Holly touched the tip of her wand to the twig and it blossomed into a lovely white rose. She laid it gently by his side. "There. Our token of friendship, of respect, of trust… and of forgiveness. Please, Cedric. Forgive me."

Holly turned away from Cedric's body and ran right into Erin.

"Hi, Holly…" Erin muttered, quietly. "I wanted to say… I'm sorry for the way I treated you. You really made Cedric happy, and… well, when my friends are happy, I'm happy. Thank you, Holly. Thank you for being his friend. And thank you for being my friend."

"I always will be your friend, Erin," Holly smiled, weakly. "You can always count on me for anything."

Holly was about to go back to Hogwarts, when she was stopped by two young men.

"Holly," they both said together.

"Drew, Ryan…" she greeted them with a nod.

"We had to hold Erin up… She couldn't look at him without losing her balance…" said Drew.  
"I understand…" Holly nodded. "I feel the same way." Ryan gave her a thankful smile.  
"No doubt Erin has probably already said this, but thank you."

"You are always welcome," Holly whispered.

Ready to finally go home, Holly noticed a familiar face. He gave her a weak, diffident wave. She approached him, unsure of her emotions on seeing him under these sad circumstances.

"What have you been up to?"

"Not much…" he muttered. "I have an internship with a sports writer for the Daily Prophet starting next month, though…"

"That's great, Oliver." The young man smiled at her. It was an awkward situation.  
"Cedric told me that… You two had grown very… close…" The way he said the word made Holly flinch. Close. And yet both of them had wanted to be closer.  
"Yeah…" she sighed. "I should have… I should have taken him, Oliver. I should have hugged him and told him that everything would be alright because I'm here now to comfort him when he's sad, to laugh with him when he jokes, to celebrate with him when he succeeds and to reassure him when he fails… I should have told him all that when I had the chance. I could have hugged him and kissed him and let him whisper in my hair and hold my hand… I could have done _everything…_ But I was stupid. I was dead stupid and I didn't. I _didn't_, Oliver! I never told him!"

The tears that had been threatening to fall began to sting her eyes as her emotions came back to her in a tidal wave. She found herself collapsing in Oliver's arms and just crying, crying until it all came out. He tried his best to comfort her, but it wasn't one of his strong points.

"Relax, Holly," he reassured her. "Everything will be OK. I promise, things will all turn out OK…"

__

Isn't it rich? Isn't it queer? Losing my timing this late in my career? And where are the clowns? There ought to be clowns. Well, maybe next year…


	19. The White Rose

Chapter Nineteen: The White Rose

"Holly?" Holly looked up from the book she was trying to distract herself with and was surprised to see Mrs. Diggory, her face looking tearstained but a strong smile lighting up her features.

"Mrs. Diggory? What can I do for you?" Mrs. Diggory entered the room and held out a broomstick to Holly.

"I believe this is yours," she said. Holly frowned and examined the broomstick. Soon, when she recognized it, she beamed.

"The broomstick he won from me," she laughed. "For the twins." Mrs. Diggory nodded. She sat down on the bed beside Holly.

"You know, he wrote to me and told me all about you," she said, the smile on her features broadening and a light dancing in her eyes again. "He told me how devoted a friend you were and how much you cared for each other. He told me about that broom and how you used the profits to help a friend of yours. That was very sweet of you." Holly found herself blushing.

"Well, yes, I suppose…" she mumbled.

"He also wanted you to have this…" Mrs. Diggory said, holding out a coin in the palm of her hand. Now, she seemed confused. "He wrote to me once… I think it was after the First Task. He said that he thought he might give this to you for Christmas, but then he forgot because he was so busy trying to figure out the egg. He was so mysterious about it, I don't know what you would want with his lucky coin, but…" She dropped the silver coin into Holly's hand, whose fingers closed around it, then opened.

"Yes," she muttered, remembering when she had returned it to Cedric and he had done the same gesture. "Peculiar… Well, Mrs. Diggory, thank you," Holly said with a forced smile now. Mrs. Diggory nodded.

"No, Holly," she said as she rose off the bed. "Thank _you_."

Holly hugged her knees on the train back home that day. She had taken an empty compartment, away from the twins who were still frustrated with Ludo Bagman and away from Lee and Harry and Cho and everyone. She was surprised she had found one, but everyone seemed to want to be with their friends and had squished together in other compartments. She even thought she saw Fred and George enter Harry and Ron's compartment. But she didn't dwell on the thought.

The thought she did end up dwelling on was Cedric and the pain she felt in her heart. It felt a thousand times worse than any torture she had ever experienced. It felt as though a knife had been stabbed straight into her heart and someone started turning the handle of it. The tears stung her eyes once more. She had never cried so much in so little time.

"I'm sorry, Cedric…"

She cried until she had cried herself to sleep and she lay sprawled out on the seat.

"What's this I hear about you crying over me?" Holly spun around and noticed Cedric in his dress robes, much like her father had been, except Cedric was holding a white rose.

"Cedric, I'm so sorry!" Holly groaned. "I never wanted you to… I never wanted you to l-l-leave me. I loved you, Cedric, with all my heart, and I feel as though I've fallen in that icy cold lake again except my hero isn't there to bring me out. You've left me to drown, Cedric, you've left me to drown, why can't I find you?"

Holly fell to her knees and began to sob. Cedric, to her surprise, merely laughed.

"Oh, quiet, you twit! You're blathering on about nonsense." Holly was so shocked, she stopped crying and merely stared at him with disbelief and offense. He grinned.

"Yes, well, I tend to do that when there's no one here to snap me out of it like you so bluntly just did!" she snapped.

"Hm, you're right… Can't the twins do that, though? Slap you when you get hysterical?"  
"You do it best," she said with a twisted smile. He laughed again. Oh, how I love that laugh, Holly thought, Oh how I miss it…

"I miss you…"

"I miss you too," he said, his smile gone. "And I forgive you. It wasn't your fault anyway, but I don't want to argue, so I'll just forgive you." She gave him a wan smile.

"I never told you…"  
"Your mind seems to be clouded, Holly. You _did_ tell me." Holly frowned. Cedric continued. "By the lake, remember?"

"But we never… We never…" he smiled.

"We will," he promised. He offered her his hand and she took it, her face confused. He pulled her close to him and stared straight into her soft brown eyes.

"I love you, Holly. And I always will."

"I love you too, Cedric…" He smiled softly and kissed her warm lips.

It was like nothing Holly had ever experienced, more than a dream, more than any earthly things Holly had ever known. It was like butterfly wings fluttering against her skin on a clear, spring day. It was knowing all that she ever was, all that she would ever become, would forever be a part of Cedric.

And it was knowing that a part of her died that day, the day Cedric was interred.

And it was also knowing that that part of her would forever live on, as Cedric would forever live on, on the calm whispers of the wind, on the soft hum of the ocean, in the heat of the sun and on the beat of an angel's wings. Always and forever.

Cedric pulled away from her just enough to look longingly into those deep brown eyes. He grinned at her.

"I should tell you…" Holly began.

"I should tell you, I will always love you," Cedric finished for her. She smiled back up at him. He stroked her hair, soothingly and she felt his fingers caress her scalp, almost as if it were real. "You haven't lost me. You never will. And you have no debt to repay. By being there for me, by loving me, by breathing for me, you have repaid me." Holly sighed and let him hold her close and stroke her hair lovingly. It soothed the sea of sorrow inside her and the waves were calm and peaceful once more. He comforted her just by smiling at her. She was entranced by the sound of his voice. And she knew an angel was cradling her.

"I am always there for you," he whispered in her ear. "Always."

He gently handed her the white rose he was holding, and with a smile backed away.

"Cedric…" Holly muttered as she watched him disappear.

"CEDRIC!" Holly sat up straight, snapping out of her bittersweet dream. She looked around and noticed they were pulling up to King's Cross Station. Sighing, she got to her feet and noticed something tumble from her lap. Frowning, she bent over to pick it up and gasped.

The silk petals of an ivory blossom had fallen from the flower that laid at her feet now. Picking the rose up gently, she wondered to herself.

"I could have sworn this wasn't here before…"

"How was your year, dear?" Holly's mother asked her when they got home. "I mean, besides the fact that…"  
"Fine, Mum, as usual," Holly muttered. "Peachy keen." And with that, she slammed the door to her room and didn't come out until the next morning.

A new sun, a new summer, a new day, Holly arose, still tasting the dream kiss Cedric had left her. She smiled at the white rose in the vase on her dresser and pulled on her clothes.

She remembered hearing her mother talking with her new boyfriend last night. She didn't think he would last long. None of them ever did. He wasn't even worth meeting.

As she walked downstairs and into the kitchen for breakfast, she poured herself some cereal and mumbled a quick 'hello' to those present.  
"Hi, Mum, Hi Remus." Neither replied. She turned to them again, munching on her cereal and noticed them staring at her. She then dropped her spoon and it fell into the bowl as she noticed Remus was in bathrobe.

"Wait… REMUS? What are YOU doing here?"

The man shrugged with a sheepish smile, and Holly was too disgusted with the apparently correct conclusion she had jumped to to question further. Sighing, she muttered to herself.

"I'm going back to bed," she said. "And when I wake up, hopefully the sky won't be red and the trees won't be growing upside down. Maybe when I wake up, the world will just turn back to normal! Lord, who knows _what_ to expect anymore!"

****

TBC

When the Next HP book is Published

__

A/N: OK, so I lied about this being the last chapter. I mean, sure, this is the end of this installment, but so many questions remain unanswered… Why did Holly completely flip when she heard Cedric and Harry had disappeared? How did she know something was horribly wrong? Where did that rose come from in the train? What will happen in her last year of Hogwarts? But most of all, what is UP with her mother and Remus Lupin??? Well, yes, I intend on continuing Holly's saga but only when I read the fifth book, when J K Rowling sees fit to release it (which I hope is soon). But, to satisfy your thirst, I will make an addition to this story (also to make the chapter count an even twenty) and give you a "preview" of what will be explained in the next installment which is yet to be titled. So hold tight! Holly will return, and with a vengeance! In the meantime, check out some of my other HP fics! Or you could, um, not…

Also, if you wish to subscribe to the Ramblings of Carly weekly newsletter, send an e-mail to _satans_righthand_gal@hotmail.com__. It includes pondering of upcoming fics, details on my life in Egypt, speculations on when the fifth book will come, quotes of the week and questions for you to ponder. It usually also makes you laugh. And the best part is, you don't have to read the whole thing! It's all nonsense anyway!_

Keep smiling and until next time,  
Carly


	20. Notes for The Dreamers

Notes For _The Dreamers_

First of all, I couldn't think of something to go with The Forgotten and The Remembered, so I called it The Dreamers which makes sense because in the final (?) installment to the Holly Phillips/Potter trilogy, dreams play a large roll, especially with Holly, Harry and Cho. Holly discovers a secret of why she is useful to Voldemort alive rather than dead. And why Harry is the exact opposite. Cho grieves desperately for her lost love. Her wild emotions eventually tie her and Holly together in an unbreakable bond. She has a larger roll in the next one. Oliver and Holly keep in touch by letters. You will see a lot more of him in the next one as well. The rolls of Harry, Ron and Hermione are unclear as of yet. I need to read the fifth book to know how they will fit into my story (lol. It used to be me trying to fit Holly into her story, now it's vice versa.) Remus and Elise have somethings to explain to Holly… And despite her love for both of them, she doesn't like it. She detaches herself from Remus for a while, angry with him. (She still hasn't quite forgiven him for betraying her, either. Though she knows it wasn't _really_ him.) Holly and Harry manage to keep their fraternity secret, even from Ron and Hermione. Though I don't know quite how they'll fit in (as stated) I do know that Harry will have another problem and will confide in Holly as well as Ron and Hermione, but Ron and Hermione are suspicious of his new found trust in her. Harry and Holly's friendship will either weaken or strengthen in this story. I haven't decided. As all this goes on, she will be writing to Oliver constantly like a living diary. Rita Skeeter makes an appearance in Holly's life again and makes she and Harry an offer they can't refuse… Other adventures await her, but I've given enough away as it is! Some of these may change to fit the story line of Book Five (IE, one of the characters I want to play a large roll may be killed or something) and I intend to comply with what JKR writes. But the basics will remain the same. 

Hope that helps some!

Keep Smiling,  
~Carly


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